Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero
by DN7
Summary: When the Normandy starts its shakedown, a man with highly advanced armor drops out of nowhere. Thrust into events beyond his control with no memory, history long forgotten arises and threatens everything and everyone around him. AU, M!Shep/Ash, OC/Liara
1. Prologue

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Prologue

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**A/N:**

I don't own anything even remotely related to Mass Effect, Crysis, Bioware, or Crytek. I am just using their characters and devices to help tell a story I made in my head

Commander John Shepard specs: standard face structure, Paragade, War Hero and Sole Survivor, Spacer, roughly 6' tall, 180 pounds, infiltrator/basic biotics

I'm going to presume that anyone who will read this story already knows all the different alien races and NPC's, so I won't go into detail about them to save time

This is my only my second story I have ever written and the first that will be posted for anyone else to read... tl:dr be gentle

**UPDATE! (4/11/2011): This is a new re vamped version of this chapter. Feel free to review it again if you'd like. The second chapter won't be reworked until I get a brand new chapter nine posted**

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**Low Earth Orbit**

**Captains Quarters**

**SSV Normandy SR-1**

**2183**

Just outside of low earth orbit, a newly completed frigate exited a space dock. The sleek black and white hull, with "SR-1" and "Normandy" emblazoned on it, began to power up its drive core to start its shakedown run. The SSV Normandy is the first ship of its kind, incorporating design features from the Turian military. Perhaps the most important feature of the Normandy is its experimental stealth system.

"Start up sequence finalized and all boards are green Captain" the voice of Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau said over the PA in the Captain's private quarters. Captain David Anderson just nodded his head slowly in acknowledgment.

"Take her out to the Charon Relay, Joker," Anderson told to the pilot "We are taking the Normandy out to Eden Prime"

"Aye-Aye Captain"

"Now then, lets get back to our discussion," Nihlus said "I know you don't like keeping your crew in the dark Captain, but this is all a part of my observation of Commander Shepard. I need to see how well he can adapt to changing circumstances."

While Anderson didn't particularly like surprises, when the Alliance Brass tells you that a Turian Spectre will be joining in on a shakedown run, you can't exactly say no. However when said Spectre tells you about a Prothean Beacon being dug up on an Alliance Colony, AND that your X.O. is under observation to become a Spectre, you learn to just go with the flow. _Hell, after all I've been through I should be used to this sort of thing. I am glad though that Admiral Hackett and Ambassador Udina agreed on my recommendation _Anderson thought to himself.

"Yes, but eventually we will have to tell Shepard what is going on" Anderson countered.

"Of course, after we make the jump to Eden Prime we can talk to him in the comm room"

"Good, is there anything else I need to know about?"

"No, the Council wants me to observe Shepard for at least 4 different missions of varying circumstances, the first being the pick up of this Prothean Beacon."

"Ok, Nihlus, just try not to be too obvious about it. Shepard is our best infiltrator, combine that with his biotic abilities and he's the best damn soldier there is. Raised in the military, battle hardened by the Blitz, sole survivor of Akuze, you wouldn't be able to find a better soldier, or a better representative of humanity, anywhere. He'll know you are shadowing him"

"Agreed Captain, I'll do my best not to tip him off too early"

_Well, this should be interesting to watch play out. I hope Shepard can succeed where I failed_ Anderson though to himself _My only hope is that nothing goes wrong on this shakedown._

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**Short time later**

**cockpit**

**Normandy SR-1**

_ 15 minutes into a shakedown run of the finest ship in the galaxy, and we get a radiation spike_. Joker thought to himself. "Umm, Captain we are picking up **A LOT ** radiation from all across the board. Even picking up some tachyons and exotic particles."

"What is it Joker?"

"Whatever it is, it's too small for the scanners to get a picture of... Whoa... The radiation suddenly died off and I'm picking up a single life sign."

"WHAT! Get us close to it! And tell the Commander and Alenko to get into hard-suits, we gotta find out whatever the hell that thing is"

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**Cargo Bay**

**Normandy SR-1**

Commander John Shepard, being in his armor since he boarded the Normandy, only had to put on his helmet and was giving Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko a hard time down on the cargo level. "Come on Alenko, if the ship were under attack you'd need to have your armor and helmet on 5 minutes ago... Not to mention being armed"

"Sorry Commander, the migraine I'm having today is killing me and the meds Doctor Chakwas gave me aren't helping much" Kaiden replied

Shepard just laughed "Just hurry up Lieutenant, whatever that lifesign out there is, it won't wait for much longer"

"Done sir, lets go get us another alien"

"What do you think Nihlus is here for?" Shepard asked while on the elevator up to the crew deck.

"Honestly sir, since this ship was built as a joint project between the Alliance and the Turians, the Council may just want someone to check it over"

"Hmm... sound logic... There is something else to it though... I just can't place my finger on it"

Just as the two got to the combat deck, Nihlus bumped into Shepard.

"Commander, what are you expecting out there?" Nihlus asked with his mandibles twitching.

"Honestly, I don't know... To tell you the truth I'm curious, there are very few things that can produce the kind of radiation that Joker picked up... then all of a sudden the radiation disappears leaving a single life sign?"

"I agree Commander, exercise caution... Whatever this 'thing' may be..." Nihlus advised.

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**Airlock Entrance**

**Normandy SR-1**

"Joker, can you bring the life sign in line with the airlock?" Shepard asked as he and Kaiden reached the air lock doors which were just aft of the cockpit.

"Commander, if you wanted I could get it _inside_ the airlock for you, but that would likely piss off the Captain, so how does 10 meters sound?"

Shepard just shook his head "Do it Joker"

"Aye aye" with that Shepard and Alenko stepped into the Normandy's airlock, waiting for the room to depressurize. "Life sign is 10 meters from the door Commander, don't forget to attach your tethers, I'd hate to have to write a report about why we lost two of the best in the Alliance on a shakedown run"

"Roger that Joker, attaching tethers now" The Commander, while used to working in a vacuum, never did quite like zero-g. _Too late now though_, "Opening outer door" Joker's voice came from the comm and the black empty void enveloped his vision. He looked at the area where the life sign should be but spotted nothing"Uh... Joker... are you sure that the life sign is 10 meters away?"

"Roger that Commander"

With the outer door now open, Commander Shepard floated out of the airlock and began to look around where the source of the life sign should be. Yet all he saw was the field of stars that made up the universe. _Out of the all the places this guy could show up, he shows up here _Shepard thought.

'Turn on the running lights, I can't spot anything" A moment later, with the Normandy's exterior lights on, Shepard and Alenko still couldn't find the source of the lifesign.

"Ok, fuck this, activating personal radar," Shepard swore as he pushed out into space, with the view of Jupiter behind the Normandy. "Got a signal, heading to it now" Using a small maneuvering thruster he had on his back, Shepard finally got close enough to see it. "Oh my god, it looks human, but more mechanical... Kaiden on my six"

"Roger that Commander" as he maneuvered over "No wonder we couldn't spot it, its skin is pitch black"

"Ok, running a scan" As Shepard ran his omni tool over the robot-humanoid, he got some weird readings... "Wait a second... I've got a heart beat! This thing is a human with an advanced exosuit! His vitals aren't that strong, Captain Anderson, I recommend we bring him in to stabilize and question"

"Approved Shepard, bring him in, Doctor Chakwas will be standing by"

"Captain, is this a prudent move?" Nihlus asked via the radio.

"Nihlus, I'm sure you know by now that we don't leave people behind, and judging by the Commander's initial scans, this man is in need of help. If he was at the center of that radiation, he is going to need medical attention. There is also the question of his armor, its unlike anything we have ever seen."

"Understood, Captain" Knowing full well human military doctrine

"Captain, who ever this guy is, he is _BIG_, I estimate him to be 6'4" and with the armor around 300 pounds. Alenko and I are gonna need help getting him down to the med bay" Shepard radioed once the airlock closed and decontamination began.

"Understood"

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**Enroute to Med Bay**

**Normandy SR-1**

Even with the help of Shepards and Kaidens biotics, it took ten minutes to get the armored mystery guest to the med bay. As they maneuvered the big man through the ship, they received several stares from the crew. They all knew they had stopped to investigate something but didn't realize what.

"Holy hell, I haven't seen a guy this big outside of vids" Jenkins, one of the marines who helped, commented.

"I'd hate to be on his bad side that's for sure" the Commander agreed after they got him on a bed, "Doctor, what have your scans shown?"

Doctor Chakwas had begun her scans as soon as the group entered the med bay and had finished when the Commander had asked his question. Her scans had her quite perplexed, "Well, despite his being in the middle of all that radiation, he seems to be perfectly healthy. Although he does have evidence of a torn ACL that was replaced with a cadaver hamstring as well as near sightedness. Other than that, I have to wait to get his armor off to do any blood tests." Chakwas stated

"Wait... why does he have a cadaver hamstring in place of his ACL?" Kaiden asked

"Well, before we had medigel and the ability to create synthetic muscles, that was the only way to properly fix a torn ACL. That procedure hasn't been used for atleast 50 years though, and the fact that he is near sighted is also troubling..." It was standard procedure now to use a synthetic tissue that could mimic the ACL's flexibility and strength as well as to have any ocular degeneration corrected as soon as it manifested.

"Ah... I see... I wonder how well he'll take a joke about being a partial zombie..." Kaiden thought out loud though no one else commented on it further.

"The only way we can get any answers is if we can get him out of that suit. Kaiden help me find any thing that would allow us to get it off" stated the Commander.

As the Commander began at the man's feet, Kaiden worked on the helmet even though both had no idea what they were looking for. Finally after a few minutes of searching Kaiden found something, "I think the various marked points of the armor may be deactivation points. The suit is sealed in such a way that nothing could get through it and having normal joints would allow for microfissures to form." Kaiden, while not an engineer was something of techie. He knew basics for hacking and was usually up to date on the latest thing for computer hardware and software.

"Only one way to find out, where are the one for his helmet?" Commander Shepard asked.

"Wait Shepard" Nihlus spoke, having been in the corner the whole time "Shouldn't you wait until he wakes up? That way nothing could go wrong"

"The way I see it Nihlus is that if his armor has allowed him to survive all that radiation, then it may be capable of much more. If he doesn't have the armor on, then its that much less of a risk to us if he panics" Shepard responded forcefully. While Shepard knew the Spectre was here for something, he didn't have any authority on the matter at hand, especially since he was on an Alliance frigate.

A mandible twitch later and Nihlus said "Ok Commander"

"I agree with Shepard, lets get him out of there" Anderson instructed

"Ok... there's the button but there's two on either side of the head..." Kaiden muttered to himself "ah ha, there we go". With that, what appeared to be the man's visor popped up and over while the mouth piece popped out and down...

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**Unknown...**

_Ungh... head hurts... _

_ distorted voices in the back ground... _

_ what are they saying... _

_ something about me... _

_ waking up?_

_ Aren't I awake?_

_ Where the hell am I anyway?_

_ Who am I? _


	2. Genesis

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 2

Genesis

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**A/N**:

I realize that the first chapter wasn't much but it was intended to be that way

Any reviews are welcome! Even if you won't follow the story, let me know what you think

This chapter will reveal a couple things about "me", so be ready for a lot of conversations and switching view points.

Yes I have torn my ACL in the past and had an allograft done, and am nearsighted. I am not however, as will be described later, a member of any armed service or for that matter insanely ripped. The main character is based loosely on me, but since I'm so average I decided to spice things up

Also if anyone is interested in becoming a Beta Reader for this fic, please let me know asap!

**Update(5/10/11): This chapter was a pain to rewrite! same thing as before, this chapter has been reformatted and more detail added.**

**Page breaks followed by a description of the area indicate a new scene, whereas *****DN7* will indicate a shift in perspective within the same scene or a short jump ahead in the scene.**

**Chapter 10 will follow next, although don't expect anything for atleast a week and a half.**

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**Med bay**

**Normady SR-1**

_I can hear voices... but what are they saying..._

_Why can't I move? Something is holding me down..._

_Can I open my eyes... yes... but everything is blurry..._

_Maybe I should try saying something to get the voices attention..._

"Where am I?"

"_**Some... get... Anderson"**_ _that voice... sounds like a women... Who is this Anderson?_

"_**Lie still... doctor" **__a woman's face then appeared in front of me; Older looking, gray-silvery hair, and darker eyes. I can see her mouth moving but why can't I hear everything? _

"Why can't I move?" I ask the women, who apparently is a doctor.

"_**Your suit isn't active, we needed to get you out"**__ the woman continues, at least I heard every word this time. What does she mean by suit?_

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"Doctor," Anderson spoke with concern, "What's going on?"

"I don't know Captain. It seems that by removing the helmet, we triggered a preprogrammed wake up call for our guest here" Chakwas answered as all sorts of alarms and beeps were going off, presumably from the sensors that were currently watching over the Normandy's new guest.

"Sir, I recommend that we get him out of that armor pronto, he may go into a panic attack" Shepard voiced as he saw the man on the table start to try to move around in the armor. "Nihlus, it may be a good idea for you to leave the med bay, I'm not sure how he'll react to a Turian if he doesn't know where he is"

"I concur Shepard, Ill be waiting outside" Nihlus said solemnly. There are still some humans who hate Turians with no reason except for the First Contact War, which was a long time ago for humans.

"Kaiden, lets get to work on that armor" Shepard stated as he turned around from watching Nihlus leave the Med Bay. _Probably to report to the Council..._

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_I can feel something happening across my body, but it doesn't feel like its actually my body... _

_Maybe its that suit they were talking about..._

_It must be, I can actually move my arms..._

_and my legs..._

_what the hell was I wearing..._

_and why am I so cold now?_

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"Hey doc, I'm comfortable the human form and all, but this guy is putting Kaiden and I to shame, and I'm not even talking about his... uh..." Shepard said embarrassingly after he and Kaiden got the armor removed. Once they got the armor off, which came apart in several pieces, they discovered that the man had no clothing on underneath the armor. Standard issue hardsuits from the Alliance always came with an undergarment to help wick sweat away from the body and to insure that the suit fit snugly. _Whatever kind of tech is in this armor that guy is wearing has got to be more advanced than anything available now... Legally or otherwise _Shepard thought as he examined the bottom half of the leg section which has a built in boot of sorts before he set it off to the side.

"Yes of course Commander," Chakwas said with a slight grin. With all her years in the Alliance Navy, she had treated many marines, both male and female, who were uncomfortable with having an older lady examine them _in detail_. "although if I may, those look like dog tags around his neck. Perhaps you should take a look at those"

"Right Doc, I'll get to work on those Commander," Kaiden said as he stooped over the guys chest and reached around his head.

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"Hey buddy," _Huh... Another face... male... dark hair... medium complexion... _"I'm just going to borrow these real quick" _he says as he reaches around my head and grabs something... a chain with two metal tags... _"Um... Captain... Something is up... His tags say he is Ryan Mitchell, USAF Master Sergeant, birthday March, 19th, **1990**" _Why does he sound shocked at the year? Although I'm glad he answered one of my questions_

"Well, saves me having to ask..." I blurted out._ Shit.. Should I have said that out loud? Too late now..._

"It seems that Sergeant Mitchell here is now fully aware of whats going on" the female voice that I now recognize as Doctor Chakwas says with a clear hint of laughter in her voice, "His vitals are stable, and as far as I can tell he isn't carrying any pathogens. I think its time that we get him some proper clothes"

"Agreed Doctor," _theres that deep authoritative voice again. OK screw this, I'm sitting up..._

"Whoa... Holy Fuck! Why am I naked?_" _I yell out as I finally am able to sit up fully on what appears to be an examining table. Around me there are 3 males and 1 female. _Dr. Chakwas I presume._ Surprisingly all 4 of them are laughing. _Why is me being naked when I wake up funny? What kind of sense of humor do these people have?_

"Easy there Mitchell, I'm Captain David Anderson. This is Commander John Shepard, Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko and of course Doctor Chakwas. You were found drifting, unconscience, and you wearing that armor when we brought you aboard. When we began to get you out of it, you woke up"_Ah so that's the Captain... He certainly looks the part. Broad shoulders, eyes that look like they've seen more than their fair share..._ "Now, what can you tell us about yourself and that armor you were wearing?"Anderson asked as he pointed to the pile the armor was in when Shepard and Alenko took it off of Mitchell. _Whats that he's pointing too... it looks like the shell of a robot..._

"Umm... Apparently my name is Ryan Mitchell, a master something in the USAF?" I stumbled over my words. When I thought about my supposed name, my head started to hurt worse than when I first woke up. "Sir I was honestly hoping you could tell me more... But first can I get those clothes the doctor mentioned? It's kind of cold" Once I focused on something else besides my name, the headache went away. _Huh, might as well treat him with utmost respect until I know whats going on around here. They should know more than I do anyway._

"Well, he certainly doesn't lack a sense of humor." The man Captain Anderson called Commander Shepard said. _I recognize his voice from earlier. His face looks as though like he's seen more than his fair share of fights, but those eyes tell a different story... Not sure what though..._

"Here are some clothes young man, they may be a little snug though, there isn't any one on this vessel that is close to your size" the doctor told me as she set down a blue shirt, pants, underwear, socks, and shoes she grabbed from a closet that was behind me.

I give her an appreciative smile "Thanks doc, but it almost doesn't matter anymore, you guys have had plenty of time to um... examine me" I joke as I pull on the shirt, underwear, pants, and socks, but have to leave off the shoes since they were too damn tight. Once I was dressed, I finally stood up to my full height. As I looked around, I was able to clearly see over the tops of everyone's heads. I looked to the Captain for direction and noticed that the Lieutenant was missing.

"Ok, now that the Sergeant here is dressed, perhaps we should take him to the Comm Room for a rather interesting briefing. Hopefully Kaiden found something on Mitchell here from the dog tags." Commander Shepard suggested to the Captain. _I think its safe to say I'm on some type of military vehicle of some sort, but the doctor said vessel... that usually implies a sea-faring one... _

"Excuse me Commander, but before you whisk away _my _patient, I would like to get a blood sample for analysis." Doctor Chakwas interrupted as only a doctor could.

"Yes of course Doctor," Captain Anderson spoke, "Shepard, you wait here. I'll get Nihlus, brief him, and meet you and Mitchell up in the comm room."

"Aye-aye sir." the Commander said saluting as the Captain left "By the way sir, you may want tell Kaiden to get a translator implant ready. Something tells me Mitchell here will need it"

The Captain gave the Commander a smirk "What would I do with out you as my X.O. Shepard?" and with that he left the room through the door on my right.

"Ok, Mr. Mitchell, are you afraid of needles?" The doctor said, grabbing my attention.

"Um... your asking a guy who just found out 5 minutes ago what his name was if he is afraid of needles... isn't there something wrong with that?" I ask, apparently being the only one getting the irony of the situation.

Doctor Chakwas gave a hearty laugh "Oh my, I do hope you get to stay around Mr. Mitchell, a personality such as yours would be refreshing in my day to day."

"Yeah, not to mention someone who I could train with." Shepard added sounding hopefull. "If he _was _a member of the USAF, he must have some combat training somewhere buried somewhere in his head, maybe even how to operate that armor."

"Commander, I'm sure you of all people would understand that any excess brain trauma caused to a person suffering amnesia could have detrimental effects. Anyways, thanks for the distraction Commander, I've got all the samples I need, just need to apply some... medi... gel... Where is the mark from the needle?" Doctor Chakwas asked, frantically looking for a needle puncture that didn't exist.

"Huh? I never even noticed you sticking any needle in me doctor..." I answered.

"Hmm... whatever it is doctor I'm sure it will turn up in your tests" Shepard spoke in a hurried fashion "But if Ryan's tags are any indication of his origin, and despite his amnesia, we need to get him up to speed as soon as possible. Ryan here would make a good addition to the crew."

"You can't be serious Commander. You've only been around him for all of 10 minutes and your willing to get him added to the crew?" Chakwas asked incredously.

"Doctor, you forget my background... _Anyone_ can tell that Ryan here is built like a krogan but few can accurately guage if he could handle one... If we can retrain him, even with out that armor, I would like a power house of his stature on my squad." Shepard retorted.

"The Captain just may agree with you, but who knows what the Alliance Brass will say"

"Well, if any of his military training is still in his head, and we can show him in action, maybe even in that suit, they'll agree"

_DAMNITTOHELL IM RIGHT HERE!_ "Umm... not to be rude or anything... but I'm right here you know... and before _**I **_ do anything, I want to learn everything I can about where I am, whats going on, and more importantly... where in HELL can I get some food! I'm starving!"As soon as I finished speaking, my stomach decided to suddenly rumble very clearly and loudly in agreement.

The Commander and Doctor look at each other, then all of sudden double over in laughter. _Umm... Whats so funny about being hungry?_

After a minute, and getting himself under controll, Shepard finally says "Sure Ryan, come with me. We'll get you a power bar and something to drink, then we'll head up to the comm room."

"Thank you Commander, although I'm not sure that'll be enough. Thank you as well Doctor Chakwas... Something tells me I'll be seeing you again soon" I reply, shaking the doctor's hand appreciatively before I leave with the Commander.

"I hope it's not too soon Mr. Mitchell, usually when people see me its for bullet wounds" she spoke as I followed the Commander outside the only room I've known for my brief life.

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**A/N: Please re-review! I am keeping track of who reviews and when! There may be a surprise in store for whoever has the most by the final chapter! **


	3. Revelations

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero, Chapter 3

Revelations

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**A/N**

First off: 2 reviews, 4 favorites, and 190 different visitors for my first 2 chapters... A huge thanks for everyone who has read it thus far.

It'll take another chapter before I get to any real action sequences. Hang in there guys!

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As soon as I exit the medical bay, my senses are greeted by several new sensations. Firstly, the sounds of a military ship humming with life, crew members running around fulfilling their duties. Secondly, the smell of an overcooked meal, god knows what went into it. Thankfully, Commander Shepard grabbed exactly what he told me he would, a power bar and drink which I ate and drank immediately. One thing that I saw that stayed the same from the medical bay was the dark blue steel and a seeming lack of interior lighting. _You'd think that with this being an apparent military vessel that they would want better lighting_. _Although the eating area is well lit_. _But why in an orangeish light?Also what's up with those weird pods over there?_

"Hey Ryan," the Commander spoke, catching me looking around "I'll give you a proper tour later. Lets get up to the Captain."

"Yes, of course sir" following his lead to past the eating area to a set of double stairs, and going up one side. The next room was incredible. While it had the same dark blue steel, it was the numerous workstations with what appeared to be an orange display. _Whats with all the orange lighting?_ There is a huge triagonal shape island in the middle of the room with more workstations lined around it, and ahead of that I can see a long hallway with even more workstations with one more at the very end, although I couldn't exactly see that far. _I'll have to see if I can get this blurry vision fixed some how_. Then I was lead behind a wall to a room with chairs arrayed in a circle. Standing in the middle of the room was Captain Anderson.

"Ah, Master Sergeant, glad to see you walking around. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to keep this brief. Before we picked you up, we were on a shakedown run. The Normandy here is a state of the art vessel that was completed just a few days ago."

"I understand sir. But what do you mean, picked me up?" Now I was thoroughly confused... _What other kind of vessel, other than naval, could they be talking about?_

"That is actually a good way to start this off. You see the year is 2183, and you are aboard the Systems Alliance Space Vehicle _SR-1 Normandy_ of which I am the captain. In 2148, a human colony on Mars discovered an alien settlement with several data caches intact. After decrypting, the data revealed something called the 'mass effect'. By using a particular substance, Element Zero or eezo for short, faster than light travel was made possible. Then in 2149, one of Pluto's moons was discovered to be a giant alien piece of technology called a mass relay." At this, a giant picture was projected behind the captain, showing a weird structure with a partial gyroscope at the middle with something glowing in the middle. "It was discovered that the Charon Relay is part of huge galactic network that allows intergalactic travel... Are you holding up Sergeant?"

_Was my mouth hanging open that obvious?_"Well sir, let me see if I got this right. We found some alien artifacts that allow us to travel efficiently through space, with even larger artifacts allowing even further travel... And you found me floating in space in that armor I saw earlier… To be honest, I understand the need for a quick briefing, so please continue and when I have time I can do my own investigations"

After that, the Captain just smiles and shakes his head, "Well, John, it seems to me you have a doppelganger here. Ryan's attitude toward new things is exactly what I'd expect from you."

Shepard belt out a good laugh "Great, now all I need to do is train him and then he could take over my spot on the ground team."

After that, Anderson continued on with a little more history, covering Jump Zero, First Contact, and then finally moving on to alien races/cultures/governments.

_This is all very interesting but what good will this do if I don't know whats going to happen to me…_

"Captain," _I gotta say something now before I get caught up in some political bull shit _"I don't know exactly how long it will take me to get up to speed here, but right now my first concern is what's going to happen to me. I know eventually I'll learn all about the Citadel government, species and what not, but knowing about that stuff now won't help me much."

_God I hope that sounded ok... Take a deep breath and keep moving_

"I also know that you guys are interested in that armor I had on me when you rescued me. What I'm worried about is that I'll get locked up in some unknown facility being studied to no end while some scientist tries to figure out how the suit functions."

_Pause for effect… that should be long enough_

"Captain Anderson," I state as professionally as possible while going into a stance that just seemed to _feel_ right and raising my hand to my forehead, "Master Sergeant Ryan Mitchell requesting permission to remain aboard the Normandy to study and acclimate to the System Alliance standards of a soldier"

_For being on board this ship for all of an hour, I hope I made a good first impression…_

The Captain crossed his arms, with a hand coming up to his chin as if to scratch a beard that wasn't there. After a minute of deep thought, he suddenly looked happy. _Umm... I dont know if this is a good thing... _

"Well, Staff Commander Shepard, what do you think?"

_Wait... what? _I look to Shepard to see his reaction at the Captains words... _Those eyes, they look like they have a fire burning behind them... but not of rage..._

"Captain, I would be honored to have Mitchell become part of the crew" he said with a smirk.

"Good, I'll call in some markers to get the necessary paper work done," Anderson then went to the same stance I'm in "Permission granted… _Lieutenant Commander _Mitchell." He snapped his hand down, and for some reason I followed suit. _Must be an old memory or something…_ Anderson continued on, "Since you are demonstrating such initiative in learning what you can, let me introduce you to some one." As he said that, Anderson activated a glowing orange thing that encompassed his lower left arm... _Again with orange! What the fuck is it with orange displays? _"Nihlus, could you come to the comm room please?"

_Nihlus... I remember that name from before I woke up in the med-bay..._

A figure began to walk into the breifing room, although I couldn't make out many details, it was obviously not human.

_If I remember right, that's a turian… follow a very strict tier level society, similar to a military which explains their military prowess, many have facial markings that indicate their homeworld/colony… wait… that is __**exactly**__ how Captain Anderson described it… hmmmm…_

"skjfbvi fhiodfhsef bnfksjfh ouhfwoeuifh pieuf ipeuf efo[iyh f sopifh pi9euf f'paiuef fipasefu "

"Uhh… Captain… I sure hope you can understand what Nihlus is saying because I sure can't…"

"Gah, I knew I forgot something," Shepard muttered "Kaiden, get up here with that translator!" he spoke into the orange glowy thing… _Seriously… what the hell is that thing?_

Less than a minute later, the guy I recognize as taking my necklace thing earlier is coming through the door with something resembling a large gun…

"Um… I'm all for using guns to speed up a negotiation but isn't this a little far?" I ask

"What?... No no this isn't a gun, it's a actually a device which will allow us to give you a universal translator so you can understand every known alien dialect…" he said reassuringly

"Ah… ok, lets get this over with then…"

"Alright, now just stay still. The translator is actually implanted directly on to the cerebellum where it interacts with the primary auditory cortex to translate alien languages into English."

"Um… ok… how does it do that and how much will it **SONUVAFUCKINGBITCH!**"I scream outloud as Kaiden puts the device behind the upper part of my left ear and pulls the trigger. I somehow stay completely still, against my will, as I try to fall down from the pain of something cracking my skull and implanting it self on my brain...

After a minute or so the pain dies down and finally manage to say "I hope that isn't a standard procedure when someone is conscience, damn that hurt..."

"Here let me apply a little bit of medi-gel and... wait... what the fucking hell? Commander come look at this!" Kaiden definitely sounded worried, shocked almost.

_I'm almost afraid to ask this_..."Hey, whats wrong?"

"Well when this procedure is implemented, a piece of the skull is cut out so the micro chip can be implanted directly on to the cerebellum. This of course leaves the area exposed and needs to be covered with a salve we use called medi-gel. Using medi-gel it usually takes about an hour before the area is completely healed... You some how have healed your self in a matter of minutes."Shepard didn't have that warmth in his voice like he did earlier... "Mitchell... Do you know anything about how you healed so fast?" He looked me dead in the eye, as if he could see the truth in me.

"Commander, I have no idea whats going on with my body and how it can heal itself from such a procedure as you described. Sir, perhaps Dr. Chakwas blood samples may reveal something about this"

"Shepard, I believe that Mitchell here is telling you the truth."

_wait ...I haven't heard that voice before..._

"I'm sorry but was that you Nihlus that just spoke? If it was then the implant is working already"

"Well, Commander it seems that your arrival here is full of mysteries: Special armor that kept him alive with out massive shielding, dog tags indicating he is over 190 years old, the ability to heal rapidly like a krogan and adapt himself to completely foreign technology that takes most a few days to get used to," Nihlus said sounding impressed almost, "No wonder you and Captain Anderson here have seen fit to give him a position in the Alliance Military. If he were discovered in Turian space, he WOULD be locked up and studied."

_I __**FUCKING **__knew it!_

"Thankfully, my current mission precludes me from commenting on this new development, so the Council won't know a thing about Lt. Com. Mitchell's abilities here until... the proper time arises."

_Well.. Let's hope that when the time does come, I'll have friends in high places to help out_

"Now then, as I tried to say before. Mitchell I am Nihlus, a Special Tactics and Reconnaissance agent for the Citadel Council. The Spectres are an elite group of individuals that operate above and beyond Council Law. We are the first and last line of defense for the known galaxy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Nihlus, but I'm sure that you aren't on a human ship's shakedown run just for kicks..."

Nihlus starts to open his mouth, mandibles flaring for a second while Anderson just chuckles to himself.

"... and something tells me that that is reserved for the Captain and Commander here to know about. Captain, with your permission, I'd like Kaiden's help with getting my armor reactivated and its usefullness determined."

Before Nihlus could interject Anderson spoke up"Permission granted, Lt. Com.. Feel free to use the cargo bay as your... "workout" area." a person could hear the smile in Anderson's voice at the end there.

_I think he of all people is willing to accept that I'll be the only one able to understand and harness that armors full potential_

Kaiden snapped off a salute, as did I just going through the motions as if my body already knew what to do. He was out the door before I caught up to him.

"Hey Kaiden wait up!" I semi-yelled, which caused the soldier standing by the door to jump a little bit

"Yeah? Whats up?"

"Well #1, I'm pretty sure the only reason I know your name is because the Commander said your name before you came into the breifing, so we really haven't introduced ourselves."

"Ah riight, sorry about that. 1st Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko sir,"

"Master... err... Lt. Com. Ryan Mitchell, but please call me either Ryan or Mitchell, I'm just glad that I won't be hauled off to some research lab thanks to the Captain getting me paper work so I can stay here."

"All right Mitchell, your informal like the Commander is, thats a good trait to have."

"Ok #2 I don't have the slightest idea of where the cargo bay is."

"Yet another blunder on my part Mitchell, lets go back down to the med-bay so we can grab your armor and then I can show you the cargo level"

"Sounds like a plan Kaiden, lets go"

* * *

"Wow, considering how you guys found me, this armor is deceptively light... It's probably only about 50 lbs yet it stopped enough radiation to kill me 10 times over." We had hauled the armor from the med-bay, distracting Chakwas from her investiation of my blood samples. Apparently something showed up that shouldn't normally show up, but isn't life threating.

"Yeah its really tough stuff thats for sure. If you don't mind as you get your gear on I'm going to take some scans and other readings so we can figure out how exactly it works and what its made of." as soon as he said scans, he activated the same kind of thing Shepard has!

"Ok, I know I'm the new guy and all, but what in the _fucking _world is that glowing thing on your arm! Shepard had one that he used to call you, and now you are using one to take scans."

"Ah, this my friend is what we call an omni-tool, like the name suggests it can do almost any job the user needs it too. Tell you what, lets get this armor working, then I'll see about getting you one as well so it'll be easier to explain."

"Deal, but first why dont we see what happens when we piece the armor together _without_ me in it?"

"Sound approach, right after you"

* * *

It only took a few minutes to assemble the armor from its various pieces: feet-knees, knees-waist, waist-neck, upper arms, lower arms, gloves, and finally helmet; 7 sections in all.

"Ok then, I didn't find any sort of on button at all when we were piecing this together. Did you find anything out from your scans Kaiden?... Kaiden? YO!"

"GAH! Sorry Mitchell, but the scans I took seem to indicate that a person needs to be wearing the armor before it activates. The thing is that I didn't detect a power source anywhere on the armor, so if you don't get it activated after you put the helmet on, you'll have 30 seconds of air. After that I'm getting you out of it."

"One helluva way to test something out eh? Possibility of suffocating just to try and get something to turn on... and that's after it saved my ass from space... you probably couldn't find a better definition of irony"

* * *

After another couple minutes of taking the armor apart I begin to slip each piece on... Unfortunately I had to disrobe when I tried to get the knees-waist part on other wise it didn't fit quite right. A moment that was only made more awkward when a female crew member came down the elevator on her way to the engineering section... _Well at least I'll have a **good **rumor going around about me now_. The rest of the armor went on without a hitch and it was pretty comfortable too.

"Ok, now for the fun part..." I muttered as Kaiden helped me with the helmet, it seemed like it could attach somehow to the spinal part of the armor, allowing it to just hang there until needed, but that was a project for another day. "30 seconds you said?"

"Yeah... It should be pretty obvious though when the armor is activated. It seems like it is partially on now, you are able to move around in it with relative ease. When we brought you aboard, it wouldn't budge a centimeter."

"Thanks for the encouragement..." trying to give an extra emphasis on the sarcasm. "Here goes nothing..." I press the buttons on my neck that activate the helmet, causing it to close around my head.

A few seconds go by, then all of a sudden I feel like the suit is squeezing me. My first instinct is to panic, but thankfully I'm able to hold my wits about me. The suit then eases off a bit, but it feels like its skin tight. After that, a display of some sort comes up in front of my eyes and a loading bar is showing along with a checklist... _Must be the start-up program... Huh I wonder what _Nanocell interface _means... _After that item on the list is completed, I suddenly feel like there is nothing separating me from the outside, like the suit isn't there at all. I can feel the cold metal of the cargo bay floor on my feet, as well as the air rushing around me from the life support systems. _Well then... I suppose that with a suit like this with out any kind of tactile input could end in disaster._ Finally, the display shows the cargo bay around me with Kaiden rapidly typing away on his omni-tool.

"Hey Kaiden, what happened to 30 seconds?" I ask, and some how the suit is able to broadcast my words to him

"Sorry Mitchell but as soon as the helmet closed I picked up an energy reading that indicated the suit powering up. The thing is that it's producing more power than a power cell for the Mako produces and I can't pinpoint the source! It's like the suit is drawing power from no where... unless... no that would be impossible..."

_Ok now I'm curious... _"What would be impossible?"

"The suit may actually be drawing its power from you, but the human body by itself can't sustain that kind of power generation!"

"Well... I'm feeling fine, great even... So how about we put aside the issue of where its getting its power and see what this can do" _Gotta admit, I feel almost invincible in this thing... Now for some fun..._

"Ok, first off, you must have some sort of display right?"

"Yup"

"Ok, can you describe it?"

"Its almost like there isn't anything in front of me honestly. Save for the image of the armor in the bottom right of my vision, with what looks like a power bar on top of that. Both are showing 100%, so it seems like the armor is fully functional."

"Alright, so first lets do some agility and speed exercises. Just follow what I do."

* * *

We do some sprints, as well as some quick turn moves, and I'm totally capable of keeping up with Kaiden. At the end of all of them, Kaiden is slightly out of breath.

"How are you holding up in there?"

"Alot better than you. It felt like I was walking to tell you the truth."

"Hmm... well then how about we have ourselves a little race? First one to get from the cargo ramp, around engineering and back wins?"

_Hmm... I was able to keep up with him and I was sprinting like I would normally... I wonder if this suit is able to augment that as well?_

"**MAXIMUM SPEED"**

_What the fuck was that?..._ I look around my display and discover in the bottom left hand corner is a symbol that has multiple arrows... _Only one way to find out..._

"Ok, Kaiden lets go..." I get into a staggered stance to get ready to run...

"Alright... Hey Jenkins come here! Give us a countdown quick"

"Uh ok..." _he's just a kid! What the hell is he doing on this ship?_ "On your marks... Get set... GO!"

With that I take a step, but the suit seems to take over causing me to run at the pace I was before the change up... Kaiden and I are tied, as we reach Engineering. _Can't admire the drive core, got a race to win! _I keep up the pace as does Kaiden, shocking the female crew member from before. As we exit the Engineering section, I decide to see what would happen if I step it up... I begin to focus entirely on sprinting when I see the cargo bay door... and all of a sudden the door comes rushing up at me!

"OH FU-" **BANG!**... "-ck..." Not having enough room to slow down I hit the bay door head on. "ow..."

"**ENERGY CRITICAL"**_Huh? _I look over to the right of my display and see that the power bar has dropped to 15% but was steadily climbing... The suit display showed the helmet section slightly highlighted but that was going back to normal as well... _Nice... a self recharging and self healing suit... this could come in handy..._

"Hey Kaiden... I think I won..." I mutter as I pick myself up... "Kaiden? You gotta stop spacing out on me man it's getting old..."

Kaiden was still standing by the elevator that led up to the crew deck, looking on in disbelief...

"Mitchell... how... did you do that?"

"I some how managed to activate a dedicated speed mode on the armor, but that burst I had there drained the power down to 15%, but I'm already back to full."

"I hope that there is some way we can replicate that armor... it would definitely give us a huge advantage on the battlefield."

"I hear you man, but lets keep going with these tests. What should we do next?"

"Hmm... lets see how you are able to handle a weapon. We'll start with a pistol first." We went back to the desk where started originally. Kaiden then called over the requisitions officer and asked for the standard load out..

"Ok, what we have here are the standard guns used by Alliance soldiers, all made by Hahne-Kedar on Earth. Each weapon has a different name and series behind it, which is generally what they are referred by. For example, this pistol is the Kessler I." He picked up a rectangular object and it unfolded to become a pistol.

"Why was it folded up like that? Wouldn't that slow down a solider if they had to rapidly switch weapons?

"It does to a point but the main reason is to make it easier to carry. All modern weapons can compact themselves down in similar fashion as you see before you. All it takes is the flick of this switch here and it'll unfold and activate." Kaiden folded the gun back up and handed it to me. As soon as the gun touches my hand, I feel a slight buzz in my hand. With my finger even touching the unfold switch it activates by itself, and all of a sudden my display changes. As I look around I am able to see movement much clearer than before, and when I fake aim the pistol my eyes were greeted by a projection of where the bullet would go.

"Um... Kaiden... With these guns... are there targeting computers inside of them?"

"Yeah... How did you know?"

"Well... Lets just say that my suit interfaced with the pistol and I can see where the bullet will go without having to aim..."

"Damnit Ryan... You know what... You are going to end up being in a squad all by yourself... You are a one man army in that suit." Kaiden spoke sounding jealous.

I laugh really hard at that last one "I'm sorry Kaiden... One day you and I will have to go at it with nothing but our fists to see who is better... By the way that reminds me... When you implanted that translator, something held me upright even though I wanted to fall over. What happened?"

"Ah, I was wondering when you would ask about that... It would be easier for me to show you than to describe it..." He then began to glow blue, causing some interference in my display, then all of a sudden he turned and looked at a crate on the opposite wall by the huge 6 wheeled vehicle. Kaiden then rose his right arm and the crate he was looking at rose as well.

"Whoa... and your complaining about my suit?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah because that requires a lot of concentration and energy. I can only do a couple different maneuvers once in a while. What I just used was something called biotics, maybe sometime later the Commander and I can get you up to speed on that as well."

"Sounds like a plan buddy. Now then, I think it's time to test my armor's true potential. We need to see how well I can handle a gun as well as how well my armor can take a hit. Do you have some small targets I can set up over on that vehicle over there?"

"You mean the Mako? Yeah I do, but first I have to exchange the ammunition block. Right now its solid titanium, but for target practice we use a specialized rubber block." Kaiden handed me 6 targets to go set up while he switched out the ammo blocks.

* * *

"Alright, lets see how you do your first time firing a gun... Hmm... Ok you got the proper stance down for target practice, and of course as you can guess in battle youll rarely ever be able to get that stance and be able to fire effectively. Range is clear, take your shots."

_Thanks for the advice coach... Ok here we go, got the projected impact point lined up on the first target... Nice and easy... _BLAM!...

"Nice shot, dead center... Keep it up"

_Ok barely felt any recoil, lets do this... _BLAM!BLAM!BLAM!BLAM! All of a sudden the last one started moving all over the place, _Damnit Kaiden's using his biotics to make this difficult... _I followed the targets movements waiting for just the right moment... BLAM!

"Excellent work Mitchell! Glad to see you didn't freak out over that last target there" with out turning to look, I could tell Kaiden had a smile on his face.

"You mean it was moving? I hardly noticed at all" I quipped back at him.

He let out a good laugh "Well Mitchell if I didn't know better, I'd say you were Shepard's twin brother, hell you both look to be the same age even."

"Ha! I'll Take that as a compliment Kaiden. Now then... on the other part of the test... We gotta see how well the armor can take fire from your guns."

"Alright but first we are using the same rubber rounds, I don't want to end up killing you accidentally."

"Ok," I hand him the gun I was using, "Head on over to the other side of the cargo bay and fire one shot when ready."

Kaiden walked on over to the other side of the room while I checked my suit and energy status. _OK 100% on both... This should be interesting to say the least..._

"Range is clear!" I heard Kaiden shout, and then he fired one round. The only way I know he did is because I heard the gun go off, but nothing registered on my display. I looked down at my chest and saw a small ball of rubber sticking on right pec.

"Hey Kaiden... I didn't even feel anything and the suit didn't register anything either. Go ahead and put in the regular ammunition block and be sure to only fire when you have a clean shot."

"Roger that, it'll just be a sec for me to switch out the blocks." I double check the suit readouts to make sure everything is normal... _Huh... Speed mode is still active... I wonder if that will have any effect on the suits ability to stop a bullet..._

"Alright, range is clear!" This time Kaiden waited for a second before pulling the trigger... BLAM!

"GAH! DAMN THAT FUCKING HURT!" I yell out, causing the girl from earlier to come running out to see what happened.

"Mitchell! Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

I check my display... "I'm fine, the suits armor stopped the bullet but just barely... The bullet stopped before hitting my actual shoulder... Energy levels are still at 100%, but suit efficiency is down to 50% but climbing. There has got to be a way to increase the armor effectiveness of the suit" _There has to be... When I thought about running faster earlier the speed mode activated... I wonder what would happen if I think about_

"**MAXIMUM ARMOR**"

_BINGO!_

"Kaiden, lets try that again... I think I just activated the enhanced armor function of the suit..."

"How?"

"Similar to how I activated the speed mode... I thought only about our race when it activated, allowing me to sprint like it was nothing but also gave me a crazy boost when I pushed."

"Ok, I'm taking your word for it, go back over by the back end of the Mako."

I head back over to my spot... As I do I look at the bottom left of my display... _The arrow's have been replaced by a shield... Must indicate the armor mode is active..._

"Range is clear!" Kaiden yelled, the crewmember from engineering looking on with a look of concern on her face.

BLAM!

I felt an impact but it felt like some one tapping me on the arm, not like before. I check my display and find something interesting... "I'm fine, but energy levels dropped to 95% and suit functionality is down to 99%... both are climbing back though."

"Whew... I was worried there for a minute... But damn you don't even have shields like our armor does and it seems like you could take A LOT more damage than we could ever hope to survive."

"I'm glad your impressed, but I'm sure the Captain and Commander are wanting to view the data we collected"

"Your right on that one Mitchell, Shepard will definitely want you on the ground team after he sees this"

Suddenly over the PA, we hear Shepard's voice. "Lieutenant Alenko and Private Jenkins to the cargo bay immediately. Repeat, Lieutenant Alenko and Private Jenkins to the cargo bay."

Kaiden, with a look of worry on his face, activates his omni-tool, "Commander, what's up?"

"Kaiden, where are you?"

"Still in the cargo bay. Mitchell and I just finished our preliminary tests and were about to head up to get to you and the Captain."

"Ok, stay down there and get armed up. We are going on a mission."

"What? I didn't even realize we made a jump... What's going on sir?" There was a slight pause on the other end...p

"We received a distress call from Eden Prime."

* * *

**A/N**

Finally! Past all the introduction b.s.! On to some real action, for those of you wondering the Alliance's ranking system goes like this:

ENLISTED

Serviceman 3rd Class/Private 2nd ClassServiceman 2nd Class/Private 1st ClassServiceman 1st Class/Corporal

NCOs

Service ChiefGunnery ChiefOperations Chief

OFFICERS

2nd Lieutenant1st LieutenantStaff LieutenantLieutenant CommanderStaff CommanderCaptain/MajorRear Admiral/GeneralAdmiralFleet Admiral

I chose to be a . mainly because I didn't want to get caught up between Kaiden and Ash and take away any spot light from them.

Also, new chapters may take a while for me to write from now on, especially if they are as long as this one was... Reviews may help that out though! Let me know what you would like to see happen in this cross over! (Nanosuit CQC versus a krogan will happen eventually don't worry)


	4. Proving Ground

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 4

Proving Ground

* * *

**A/N**

Chapters from now on may or may not be as long as the last one. Updates will be sporadic seeing as this is the only ME/Crysis crossover, I want to make sure each chapter is as good as it can be.

I will follow canon to a point, but I will alter some sections so this doesn't read like every other S.I.

I will "reveal" the other nanosuit functions throughout this chapter, so don't fret too much

This chapter will contain excessive swearing, this fic is rated M for a reason.

I have played ME1 enough times to have the gist of the script down so please don't complain if I paraphrase it to sound better.

Please spread the word about this fic! The more people that get me constructive reviews the better the next chapter should (hopefully) be

* * *

_Of course, just my luck... I end up in the year 2183, with no memory of who I am, have an advanced piece of armor that no one else knows how to operate, and now am an officer in a military I know next to nothing about... To top it all off, the brand-fucking-new ship I'm on is now on its way to investigate a colonies distress signal... Might as well make the best of it and see if Commander Shepard wants my help..._

While Kaiden is checking his rifle and pistol, Jenkins, the guy who "helped" Kaiden and I out before, steps off the elevator and over to the wall of lockers next to the work bench. He grabs a suit of armor similar to Kaidens and starts to put his on. After he's suited up he goes over to the requisition officer and gets one of everything: a rifle, a pistol, a shotgun, and a sniper rifle. _Heh, he's not taking any chances... good for him... I wonder though..._

"Hey Kaiden," I call over, "Why is your and Jenkin's armor plain grey, while the Commander's is black with that red stripe and N7?"

"Valid question... The Alliance uses an alphanumeric ranking system for individual specialties. The N stands for Spec. Ops. And the 7 is the highest level any one can go. The red stripe is for his rank as a commander."

"I see... but that doesn't explain the black..." I reply sarcastically. _ I hope he can guess I have a big shit eating grin under my mask_

"... I can tell your being sarcastic, but it actually is a good point" Kaiden replied, laughing to himself.

"I try... Granted that I'm the newbie here with a whole 2 and half hours of life experience behind me" I deadpan.

"Well, something of your past has to be in there. You're operating that suit like its a part of your body, and your work with that pistol thus far has been superb. I think the only other way we'll be able to get more data is if we can see you in action."

"Yeah but I'm not sure the Captain or the Commander would be too eager for me to join you guys..."

"Only one way to find out... If you could find some other tactical advantage besides your super speed, then maybe Shepard would be willing to bring you..."

"Hmm... Thats worth looking into... Thanks Kaiden."

"Anytime buddy"

* * *

_Another tactical advantage huh?... Well suit... you've been able to read my mind before let see what happens when..._

"**CLOAK ENGAGED**"

_Wait what? _I look down at my hands... Except they aren't there! I wave them around a little bit... I can barely see something moving where they should be... _HOT DAMN!_ _Wait a sec... Of course... Just like the other modes, this one is draining power but very slowly... I wonder if I could scare Kaiden by walking up behind him and tapping him on the shoulder..._

At that precise moment, the elevator door opens revealing Shepard, Nihlus, and Captain Anderson.

"Lieutenant Alenko... Where is Mitchell?" The Captain asked with concern evident in his voice...

"What do you mean sir? He was standing right over there next... to... _the FUCK?"_

_Hmm... I wonder if I can maintain this cloak while moving... _I begin walking silently behind Shepard and Nihlus... _Ok, power is dropping slightly faster, but I should have enough to pull this off..._ I continue my stealth maneuver around the group. Jenkins, Kaiden, Shepard, Nihlus, and even Anderson begin looking all around the Mako, while I snuck past them and over to the work table. _Ok, power is at 40%, lets go back to..._

"**MAXIMUM ARMOR"**

"Hey, guys!" I holler over to them "What are you doing over there?"

Kaiden looks like he's seen a ghost, while Jenkins, Nihlus and even Anderson look impressed. Shepard is the only one with out any discernible reaction, but rather his eyes seem to be looking past me. Possibly calculating something in his head.

Kaiden is the first one to speak up, "How the hell did you do that?"

"Simple, after our little discussion, I was thinking about getting a tactical advantage, then my suit activated a cloak. I couldn't even see my own hands it was that good."

Shepard spoke next, saying what was on everyone's mind "Show us."

"Ok, you'll see me in a bit"_Oh this could be fun... What should I do... Hmm... I know..._

"**CLOAK ENGAGED**"

I see the entire group's reaction go from blank and expecting to utter shock...

_Alright... now that I have their attention..._ I turn around to the table and grab my pistol from target practice. It too becomes covered in the cloak, and as the others see this I hear an very audible gasp. I begin walk around the group, having holstered my pistol.

_Hmm... Jenkins is the furthest away from everyone, should be the easiest to get to... A simple head lock should do just fine..._

I walk towards the front of the Mako, where Jenkins was standing, looking around to see if he could spot me. I just got behind him and was ready to get him in the head lock when I saw my power level drop below 15%

"**ENERGY CRITICAL**"

_No time like the present..._ I get Jenkins in the head lock, surprising him and getting quick looks from everyone else.

"What the hell Jenkins?" Shepard asked.

_Ok enough teasing..._

"**MAXIMUM ARMOR**"

"Sorry Commander, but I wanted to show you just what I can do with the cloak" I said as I reappeared to them while releasing Jenkins at the same time. "Jenkins you ok?"

"Yeah I am, that was fucking epic! I didn't even hear you!"

"Impressive Mitchell. It would seem to me that you and your suit could come in handy on this mission, provided that the Commander here would take you." Nihlus spoke. _Bastard just wants to see what this suit can really do._

"Commander, it's up to you sir. I would like to join your squad to assist in any way I can." I stood upright and looked at the Commander.

"Shepard, from our tests earlier, I can tell you that Mitchell is more than able to handle himself. I can also tell you that we have done everything we can aboard the Normandy to test the suit out. If we want more data, we'll need to either get it while in action or back at an Alliance facility." Kaiden vouched for me. _Thanks buddy_, I thought to him while giving him a nod which he returns as well.

Shepard crossed his arms, and began looking me up and down, as if sizing me up for a fight. Suddenly, he pulls out a knife and whips it at me! _WHAT THE FLYING FUCK!_ Luckily, I have armor mode enabled and rather than ducking, my arm moves on its own and _catches _ knife in mid air! _HOLY SHIT did I just do that?_

Everyone else has the same look of shock on their face as well, and after seeing me catch the knife look back and Shepard who has an approving look on his face.

"Well then, I just expected you to dodge it. I never imagined you'd be able to catch a knife being flung at you. Welcome to the ground team Mitchell."

"Damn, if that's what it takes to get on the ground team, I can't wait to see what else you got in store for me sir." I say, handing the knife back to him.

"No, keep it. You earned that knife. Besides, I always carry at least two on me." Shepard said, reaching to a hidden compartment on his arm pulling out an identical knife.

"Thank you sir"

* * *

"Approaching drop point one" we hear over the PA.

"Ok, Shepard, I'll go and scout ahead. I'll meet you at the dig site" Nihlus replied

"Roger that Nihlus, see you there."

At that I felt the ship shudder a bit and the cargo bay door opened revealing what appeared to be a large field, the only thing troubling was the dark red sky that seemed to be converging towards a single point.

After Nihlus got off, the ship lifted off again.

"Approaching drop point two" came over the PA.

"Ok, Shepard you and your crew are going to support Nihlus finding the beacon and who did this. Finding and helping survivors is secondary."

"Aye-aye Captain, we'll cover Nihlus" Just like before, the ship shuddered a bit and then the bay door opened revealing a small secluded area, almost like a valley. Shepard and Kaiden lead the way while I follow behind Jenkins. _Better have the big guy in back for any sneak attacks_, I tell my self when really I want to watch Shepard so I can get a feel for how he will move around the battlefield. Luckily there is a path from the valley that went around a rock formation. Shepard called up Jenkins, and talked to him quick.

"Jenkins, you're from here right?"

"Yes sir."

"Do you know where we are right now?"

"Yeah, if we just follow this path we'll head right toward the dig site. I don't know why Nihlus went the way he did. We should beat him there though."

"OK, take point since you know the lay of the land."

"Yes sir!"

We got in to a loose delta formation, Jenkins at the lead, me at his left, Shepard and Kaiden to his right. As we follow the path we come up to a hill where it looks like a rock slide happened. _Hmm plenty of __cover if anything decides to pop out at us._

"Hey, Mitchell." I hear Shepard call me

"Yeah?"

"You sure you only want a pistol? I only use my shotgun in dire circumstances, I'll loan it to you for now."

"Thanks but no thanks sir. My armor doesn't have the same kind of locking feature yours does. I'll be fine with the pistol."

"Alright. Stay frosty guys, we don't know who or what exactly attacked."

We come up to another corner on the path, and Shepard signals for us to stop again. Jenkins nods towards the Commander, who nods back. Jenkins then rushes out across to first piece of cover available. Suddenly, we all hear a distinctive whirring sound and look up to see two small robot flying towards us. Jenkins scrambles for the cover but is too slow. The robots open fire with some kind of gun they carry under neath their body and Jenkins goes down, unmoving. _Ok you guys want to play like that, then lets dance!_

I sprint out of the cover the corner provided towards the cover Jenkins was heading for. Somehow though the drones don't hit me. Once in cover, I pull out my pistol, the targeting computers syncing with the suit. I wait for a lull in the fire, then I pop out of cover. I think I heard the Commander yelling at me, but I have to focus. I aim at the robots gun, that being the biggest target. I fire a 3 round burst, all my shots hitting home. The robots gun, having been damaged, seems to exploded taking the rest of the robot with it. I dive back into cover, just as the other drone starts firing. I felt two shots hit me, and I check my power levels. _Minor damage, power down to 90%, suit still at 100%_. _Lets change up the tactics a bit..._

"**MAXIMUM SPEED**"

With out waiting for the fire to stop, I jump out of cover and run normally towards the robot, waiting till I'm closer to fire. The robot, seeing what I'm doing also rushes towards me, _Well then lets see how you like this..._

"**CLOAK ENGAGED**" When the robot flies around my new cover, I'm no where to be seen. I get my pistol right up next to it and pull the trigger, causing the machine to simply fall down to the ground in a heap.

I decloak and see Shepard and Kaiden running up towards me. Apparently I ran further than I thought I did. When they get close I see that the Commander isn't too happy. _Aww fuck..._

"MITCHELL! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" Shepard roared. _Ok stay calm, better to stand up and fight than cower and hide_

"Sir, I just reacted to what was going on. We were under fire, and Jenkins went down with barely any effort from the enemy. I know your and Kaiden's armor was similar to Jenkins, and probably wouldn't have stood a much better chance. From the tests we ran on the Normandy, I knew my armor can take a lot more punishment than what yours can. I just did what was most logical; I put the biggest, toughest, meanest gun we had in front to absorb the damage for the rest of the squad." As I spoke with confidence, I could see Shepard softening up a bit. _Whew... Talking about biting the bullet..._

"I see your point Mitchell," he said, "But I don't risk my teams lives in a situation like that. You couldn't have known how strong the enemy really was, and you could have died as well. I also need to know you can follow orders, otherwise the entire squad can be in danger." He spoke like an adult explaining to a child why they were being punished for getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Understood sir." I said, not pushing the issue. _We have a job here after all_

"Alright then. There isn't anything else we can do for Jenkins, the Normandy will pick him up later."

With that we continued on the path, spotting a couple more of those drones. Kaiden and Shepard were constantly in cover while I was constantly moving, keeping the drones off balance. Using speed mode I was able to run circles around them with out taking a hit while Kaiden and Shepard, having to aim manually, eventually downed the pesky robots.

"Do you guys know what these things are and where they're from?" I ask.

"Not a clue, but we gotta keep moving. The dig site is just under a click away." Shepard replied.

* * *

We kept working our way to the dig site for whatever it was we were after; I was using speed mode followed by cloak to scout ahead and make sure there were no more nasty surprises waiting for us. We reached the top of a hill and saw quite the dig site ahead.

Suddenly the sound of gun fire, although nothing like the bark of the rifles that Shepard and Kaiden had, reached our ears. All three of us looked for the source and off in the distance we saw a lone white armored individual running towards us. In pursuit of her were a trio of what looked like robots with weird flashlights for heads. One of the robots got a lucky hit on the individual, causing what I recently learned were shields to flare. After the hit, the person stumbled but managed to get a pistol up and nail one of the robots. When they turned around, it was clear that it was a woman! She climbed behind a big rock for cover after seeing three more robots come from the area of the dig site.

"Commander, I'm going in to take care of the closest robot. Think you and Kaiden can get to that trooper and cover her while I take care of the others in the area?"

"Mitchell, all you have is a pistol... How are you going to take down 4 hostiles by yourself?" Kaiden asked.

"Something tells me they aren't ready for a ghost..." I reply.

"Ok, we'll give you covering fire, but move fast. We don't know how many more of these things there are." Shepard spoke in agreement.

"**MAXIMUM SPEED"**

With my pistol in one hand and Shepard's knife in the other, I run without engaging my boost, thankfully Shepard's and Kaiden's fire are drawing the robots attention away from me. The first one raises its rifle up to return fire at them, oblivious to the 6'4", 300 pound mass coming towards it.

_Hope this works..._ I bring up my knife hand, and while running manage to throw the knife into the flashlight part of the robot, crippling it and causing it to drop. With out missing a beat, I boost over to the trio who have, upon seeing their teammate fall, turn their attention towards me. _All right, energy is at 50%... _BLAM... I had boosted close enough to take out a robot with having to worry about its shields. As soon as I pull the trigger I think with every cell in my body...

"**CLOAK ENGAGED**"

_Ok... power is at 40% and dropping..._ I quickly move around one of the remaining robots. Simultaneously, I go back to armor mode, grab the robot by its neck thing, and grab its rifle with my free hand. Just as it's partner begins to turn to shoot, I open up with my new gun and my hostage's shields taking the hits for me. It turns out to be an even match, as soon as I finished the other robot, my "shield-bot" had taken enough hits to be of no more use.

_Alright... that went easier than I thought... Take a quick look around... No more movement..._

"Commander, we're clear." I call back to him.

"Alright Mitchell, regroup on me... and do it normally this time..."

"Aww... Ok Commander." _I wonder why he said to not use speed mode?... DUH! The female trooper is probably in shock considering that I kind of look like a robot in this thing..._

As I approach the rock where the group was, after getting the knife back, I could hear a women yelling.

"There is NO WAY that thing was human! For all I know its a Geth gone haywire!"

"What's a Geth?" I ask coming around the rock. The women is even shorter than the Commander and Kaiden, the tops of their heads just being in my field of vision when I look straight ahead. The Commander and Kaiden both have a look of worry on their faces when I come around the rock formation. The women however just has a look of fury on her face as she grabs her assault rifle and begins to fire at me.

"HEY NOW! That's not nice to shoot at the person that just saved your ass!" I yell, watching my power drop as the bullets hit.. _Shit... I'm down to 50% already..._ "Kaiden? How about a translator?" I ask hoping he gets the idea... Luckily he does and a blue field suddenly envelopes the woman ceasing her firing.

"What are you doing? Thats a geth!" she yelled at Kaiden...

"Mitchell, could you take off your helmet please?"Shepard asked.

"Sure, just a sec. Kaiden I need a little help getting all the buttons." The four buttons were far enough apart that my fingers couldn't reach them. As the helmet depressurized, I'm able to breathe the unfiltered air... And it smelled... Like what, I can't explain but I recognize it and hate it...

"Now," I spoke with my helmet off, "could somebody give me the quick version of what the geth are? After proper introductions are made of course." I said looking down at the women.

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, this is _Lieutenant Commander _Ryan Mitchell." Shepard spoke, looking at Williams who was still standing completely still even though Kaiden's biotics had worn off.

"Glad to meet you Chief Williams, and don't worry about what just happened. I completely understand your position." I spoke trying to put as much compassion as I can into my voice.

The first words out of her mouth though, "What the hell are you wearing?"_ Why am I not surprised?_

"It's a long story Chief, but I'll tell you later." Shepard spoke up for me. "Right now we have to find that beacon."

Williams finally stopped staring at me and said "Its not far from here, I can show you sir."

"Alright, Williams. Consider yourself part of my squad now, we'll handle the paper work later" _Something tells me that Shepard doesn't do much paperwork in the first place..._

"Hey Kaiden, a little help with the helmet?" I ask. After we get it back on, I'm thankful I don't have to go through the start up sequence again. Williams gives me an odd look before she took point. It didn't take long for us to get to the dig site.

"Umm... Where's the beacon?" Kaiden asked, being the one that voiced what everyone was thinking.

"The scientists were planning on moving it to the space port this morning before the attack started, so that's probably where its at." Williams answered for us.

"Ok lets keep moving then. Mitchell, take point. Something tells me that things are going to get interesting from here on out"

"Roger that" I said moving to take the lead.

* * *

Apparently the path we started that led us the to dig site would also lead us to the space port..._ Hmm... That's a little convenient..._ As we proceed behind and up from the dig site, I'm the first to spot 3 spikes that have some figure resting on them. A few steps closer and I recognize that the figures were actually bodies! _What the flying fuck is going on here goddamnit!_

We keep progressing on the path, which led us to a small encampment where the spikes are sitting.

"My God! What have the Geth done here?" Williams cries out. As if to answer, the spikes begin collapsing down until the bodies are just resting on the pedestals.

"I don't know... but be ready..." I reply... As soon as I finished my words the bodies begin to move! The three bodies, looking more machine like than me, begin to stand up while uttering a raspy moan that chilled me to the bone. _Well this is new, its like the spikes went and replaced everything in the bodies __with circuitry, creating these lifeless forms but what for?_ Without warning the husks that used to be people began to run towards us!

"Open fire!" Shepard yelled. We all did, but it seemed to take forever to kill the damn things. Even the biotic attacks that Shepard and Kaiden used had almost no effect. When Williams used her shot gun on the legs of one, it still kept coming. In an involuntary reaction, she pulled the trigger of her shotgun while it was aimed at its head. The blast finally stopped the creature in its tracks.

"They're like zombies! Aim for the head!" she yelled out.

"That's perfect! First sentient robots, now cybernetic zombies, what are we gonna run into next?" Shepard mused.

"I vote on a sentient plant!" {**A/N: **EPIC FORESHADOWING!} I yell as I get a head shot on the husk that was coming after me.

"HA! Your on Mitchell!" Shepard called out, finishing off the last one.

"Alright, but does that mean like immediately next or some time in the near future?" I ask.

"Whenever, keep the bet interesting. Anything you two like to add?" Shepard asked looking at Williams and Kaiden.

"What? Betting on the most outrageous thing we could find next? No thanks." Kaiden scoffed.

"How can you two even bet on something that ridiculous on a battlefield?" Williams asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, "You gotta keep the mood lite, other wise being in such a dark situation will just drag you down as well."

"Well put Mitchell." Shepard nodded approvingly. "Come on, Nihlus just radioed me and said he's almost at the space port"

"We should beat him there sir." Williams said.

"Mitchell, boost ahead and make sure its clear."

* * *

With out acknowledging the order I turn and begin running using speed mode ahead, not running into anything difficult. When I do I get to a ledge and can see the spaceport below. As I scan the area I happen across a zoom feature on my display. _NICE! This will come in handy for long range pistol shots..._ I keep scanning and find Nihlus walking up cautiously towards the platform. I check out the platform and see another Turian, silver colored though and without any facial markings... _Huh something about him doesn't seem right... _I see Nihlus acknowledging the other and turn his back to him. _Okay... I wouldn't have done that but Nihlus must know him... Wait... what's he doing?_ I saw the silver Turian raise his pistol to Nihlus's head! _OH FUCK!_

At that moment, instinct took over...

"**MAXIMUM STRENGTH**"

I grabbed Shepard's knife and threw it as hard as I could, my energy reserves in the process reaching critical. As I look back up, I see the silver Turian walking away, the knife on the ground next to a blood trail and a motionless Nihlus. I also hear the squad catching up to me, but I ignore them. Grabbing Shepard, and hauling ass towards Nihlus. Shepard felt like he weighed next to nothing as I ran to the platform.

"DAMNIT MITCHELL PUT ME DOWN!"

"Sorry sir, but Nihlus needs medical attention. Another Turian tried to shoot him the back of the head and I threw your knife from the ledge up there to stop him."

"Alright alright calm down, go get the other two, you can obviously make the trip faster than they can. I'll work on Nihlus here." I do as I'm told and run back to Williams and Kaiden, putting one on each shoulder and running back feeling like I wasn't even carrying anyone.

Of course the first thing out of Kaiden's mouth is "Did you find another setting?"

"Yeah, strength mode apparently... Thats how I was able to throw that knife," I said pointing to it first, "from up there." and pointing up to the cliff where we had just come from.

"What? No way!" Williams cried out.

"Look, _Chief_, I'm not one to lie so if I said I did it, then I did. We don't have time for me to give you a demonstration."I made sure to put extra emphasis on the rank

"Williams, he has a point. Now get over here and help me, I used up my medi-gel and need some more to stabilize Nihlus."

"Yes, sir." she said meekly. _God I hate doing that..._

After a few minutes, the Commander finally stood up from Nihlus's body.

"Alright I got him stabilized, but we need to get him to the Normandy soon. I've already signaled them to get a medic team down here. Ash, where is the loading dock?"

"This way sir." All of a sudden we heard a loud screeching noise that made us all cover our ears.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS MAKING THAT NOISE!" I yell... and I just happen to look up... a massive black squid thing pulsating with red energy rose up into the sky... Apparently everyone else did too

"That thing is massive! It's bigger than any of our Dreadnoughts!" cried Ash.

"How did it even land?" was Kaiden's thought

After the ship left visual range, Shepard finally spoke up "That doesn't matter, we gotta find that beacon." _huh... mission comes first I guess._

_

* * *

_

We continued on our way, following the blue blood from the silver Turian I injured earlier, stumbling into some more Geth on the tram system. With an extra hand on the squad the dumb things went down with out much trouble until we ran into one that rivaled my size carrying a shotgun. After some well placed gun fire, the Destroyer as Williams called it, finally went down. We got to the end of the trams, and took the last one in line to the docking bay.

_This should be it coming up here..._ I thought as the tram finally came to a stop. The four of us moved up and around the ramp that Williams said would take us to the dock. Right as we reached the overhead path way that went over the tram system, Kaidens Omnitool beeped.

"Uh oh... Sir Im detecting 4 nuclear war heads in the area. Whoever attacked wanted to leave no trace."

The Commander's eyes almost seemed to glow with anger at that statement. After a tense second I spoke up, "Sir, Williams and I will recon the area to eliminate any remaining Geth while you and Kaiden can deactivate the nukes."

"Hey, your not the boss aro..." Williams started up, just before Shepard cut her off.

"No, Williams he's right. You two are the biggest guns we got, while Kaiden and I are the only ones that know how to disarm the bombs. Now go and see of you can locate the other bombs while we work on the first one that they left in plain sight right ahead of us."

"Aye-aye sir," Williams finally said. _I hope she understands the reasoning here._

_

* * *

_

After we split up, leaving Shepard and Kaiden behind cover to deal with the first nuke, I took point with Williams a fair distance behind me. Of course it didn't take long for us to find some more robots to play with. About 50 yards down from where the Commander was, we spotted another nuke with some more Geth prepping it, oblivious to me and Williams. I hold up my hand telling her to hold postion. I work my way back so I can get some more info.

"Ok, Chief, I saw another bomb up ahead there with a Destroyer and two troopers prepping it. Off to the left was an opening, does that lead to the dock?"

"Yeah it does, how do you want to do this? It took all four of us last time to take down a Destroyer..."

"Simple... Ill use the same maneuver I used when I saved you, but a little bit more fun this time..."

She raised her eyebrow at that one, to which I reply "Don't worry, when you see me decloak and take out the Destroyer open up on the other two with your sniper rifle."

"Alright L.C., your plans have worked out great so far, I'll trust you." She spoke.

I had to tilt my head to get the point across "L.C.?"

"Yeah... short for Lieutenant Commander"

"Ah..." Williams just chuckled to her self as I cloaked and began slowly walking up to the robo-trio. _Ok gotta keep enough energy to be able to punch through the armor of this thing... _I got close enough to group to be able to be able to hear some sort of sound coming from them... _Huh... must be how they communicate... Ok energy is at 50%... should be more than enough for this..._ I decloaked and engaged strength mode, running at the Destroyer. The Geth hear me me coming and turn to see whats happening . _Theres my opening... _The Destroyer had turned enough for me to get a clear suit enhanced uppercut to its head, causing it to fall down to the ground immobile. When I looked at the other two geth, they were missing their 'heads'.

"Nice shooting Williams."

"Thank you sir. The dock should be just down that ramp on your left."

"That it is...I can see the beacon, but there are more husks... FUCK! They saw me and are coming this way! Williams get your ass over here!"

I swear she must have had a suit like mine on as well, because before I know she at my side firing her shotgun at the mass of cyber-zombies. A few got too close for comfort, and I had to smash some heads in . Eventually though, thanks to the bottle neck created by the ramp, we managed to finish the damn things off.

"Commander, the area around the beacon is secured. How are those bombs coming?" Williams radioed Shepard.

"We've located the last one and have begun to disarm it. Make sure the package is 100% secure and radio the Normandy for pickup."

"Aye-Aye, sir. Did you hear that L.C.?"

"Yup, some how my suit managed to patch into the comm systems, but I don't know how to send a message yet." I replied slightly annoyed. _Seriously... I can kick major ass with this suit but I can't send a simple message on the same channel I'm listening in on?_

Williams and I head on down the ramp to the beacon, but a strange green light is emanating from the top of it.

"Woah... it wasn't doing anything like that at the dig site. Someone must have activated it." Williams said astonished. I was busy checking out the area to be sure that there were no more surprises in store, and Williams having seen the carnage of the landing area, was walking to the edge to get a better view.

Suddenly, the green light the beacon was giving off intensified. I turned around and just reacted.

"Williams!" I cried out as I boosted over to her as she was struggling against some invisible force. I managed to grab her, but felt the pull on my body as well. _Goddamnit... Never a dull moment is there?_ I thought as I flung her back and away from the beacon. After I had done so the device seemed to lift me up, and soon my entire body began to burn as if my suit was on fire, my mind being filled with images that I couldn't make out. I wanted to cry out in pain but couldn't. The pain was the last thing I felt before I felt nothing at all... just blackness...

* * *

"Oh my god! L.C.!" I cried out. _ God Ash, how can you be so stupid!_ "Normandy, I need immediate pick up! Mitchell is down! Repeat, Mitchell is down!"

* * *

**A/N:** -Will Nihlus survive? What will become of Mitchell now that he's the one that interfaced with the beacon instead of Shepard? That will all have to wait for the next chapter!

-A big thanks to Ghost88 who gave me the idea of potentially saving Nihlus

-Another big thanks to those that have favorited/alerted my story! It keeps me going knowing that you guys are waiting the next chapter

- Also I want your opinions, I came up with a fairly reasonable way to save Benezia, but I want to know from you guys if you think I should. Visit my profile page to see the poll I have set up! It will close in about a week, perhaps longer if I feel it needs more votes.


	5. Red Tape

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 5

Red Tape

* * *

**A/N**: I realized that I posted 4 chapters in the span of a week with #5 being posted just under 2 weeks after the first one… you guys are lucky!

This chapter will explain, from my p.o.v., of how the nanosuit is powered and operates. It should also give some insight on some previous events (translator implant). Please realize that I never consulted the crysis wiki, I'm just using my knowledge from what I've seen in game. **IN SHORT DON'T GO ON A RAMPAGE!**

Please vote on the poll I have set up! I want to know if you guys want Benezia to live or die in this fic. I already have both scenarios down for the romance plots so don't worry about screwing anything up like that

There will be A LOT of dialogue in this chapter, so I will be paraphrasing as much as possible. As much as a person loves the game, reading the same dialogue over and over again gets boring

* * *

_So much pain…_

_Suffering…_

_Death… My death?_

_No… someone elses… _

_Who killed who?_

_Machines…_

* * *

"And there goes his beta waves again… Whatever he's dreaming about must be quite vivid." Dr. Chakwas commented at the sound of another beeping monitor.

"Is there any way we can bring him out of it doc?" Shepard asked "Who knows what that beacon could have done to him."

"I understand your concern Shepard, but given the situation we have here it would be inadvisable to try and awake up a amnesia suffering patient after they have had their entire nervous system invaded by an ancient alien artifact. Especially concerning his physiology."

"What do you mean by that doctor?" Ashley piped in.

It was Captain Anderson's turn to speak up. "What she means is that its above your pay grades to know about Commander and Chief, at least until Mitchell here wakes up and gets debriefed by me." While the ground team was on Eden Prime, Doctor Chakwas had finally completed her analysis of Mitchell's blood. What she found had astonished her; the initial results had shown a high concentration of metals in Mitchell's blood stream. After further examination, it was found that the source of the metal was actually synthetic cells in the bloodstream that somehow manipulated various hormones and tissue functions. When that data was combined with Kaiden's scans from on board the Normandy and on the battlefield, along with a full body scan done when Mitchell was brought aboard (he still had the suit on and active unlike when he was saved), it revealed exactly how the suit was powered.

* * *

_(excerpt from medical report)_

Date: July, 23rd, 2183

Location: _SSV NORMANDY_, currently on station at Eden Prime

Subject: Lt. Com. Ryan Mitchell, Nanosuit

Examiner: Dr. Chakwas, CMO

Classified: Eyes Only

The cells are released by the suit into the wearers blood stream so it can manipulate the wearers every major biological system. Which explains how Mitchell was able to acclimate to the translator implant and heal so quickly. The nanocells were able to directly interface the device and repair the damage by using nano synthesizers powered by the human body itself. It seemed, however, that their programming doesn't allow them to repair existing damage when they were first introduced into Mitchell's body, explaining his eyesight and knee.

While the healing function of the nanocells could be powered by the body's natural energy, the operating of the suit requires much more. The body itself is a good power source, but nowhere near enough, so the suit actually draws power from any thing around it; Light, radiation, heat, natural body movements and chemical processes. It then holds this power in capacitors where it remains until needed, thus explaining the energy reserves bar Mitchell had spoken of.

* * *

Chakwas was able to isolate a sample of the nanocells for the Alliance R&D guys to look into. The medical breakthrough they represented was enormous, instead of having to haul medigel around and have to wait to get to a hospital for major wounds, a simple injection of the n-cells,as she called them, upon enlistment would perform surgery on the spot given enough time.

* * *

Anderson of course wanted to have the suit scanned more thoroughly so that it could be replicated. Given what Mitchell was able to do on the field, he would never be comfortable in the standard armor the Alliance used while this _nanosuit_ would be examined by Alliance techs. In truth, he knew that it would be faster to just hand over the suit, but it was needed too much on the front lines. After picking up Nihlus and Mitchell, a blood sample was taken from the blood trail, left by the Turian Mitchell threw the knife at. It had turned out to be from an old acquaintance…

_Demon more like it…_ Anderson thought to himself. _It seems that I'll never be able to get away from that bastard. Although the Council won't like that it's not a 100% match… In this day and age, a DNA sample can be faked from __**scratch **__and have a higher match percentage than 60%_._ I just hope we can find a way to get a video feed from Mitchell's suit other wise all of our chances of getting Saren thrown in prison are out the window._ _No… Gotta focus on the here and now… When Mitchell wakes up, he'll be the galaxies most eligible bachelor, wanted celebrity, and famous soldier next to Shepard._

* * *

"Ungh… I REALLLY have to stop waking up not knowing what the fuck happened to me…" I moan finally able to move and look around the medbay. "Glad you guys decided to leave the suit on this time too."

Everyone but Ashley laughed remembering what had happened the other day. "I know I'm out of the loop on this one but will someone **please** fill me in here?" she complained.

"Next time Chief," I told her, "I take it I was knocked out by that beacon thing?"

"You guessed right Mitchell," Chakwas informed me. "While you were out I observed a lot of brain activity that usually corresponds with dreaming. Do you remember what you saw?"

I looked around the room and everyone was looking directly at me expecting answers, "I remember seeing images of pain and suffering caused by machines, but nothing concrete. What happened to the beacon?"

"It blew up after you interfaced with it sir." Williams spoke up. "When I got too close to it, it must have triggered some kind of safety protocol and then you saved my ass throwing me to the side."

_She looks like shes blaming herself for what happened… I __**suppose **__I should tell her its not her fault… but damnit common sense dictates that you __**AVOID GLOWING ALIEN DOOHICKEYS!**_

"It's ok Chief, you couldn't have known about it."

_Good, she looks relaxed now_

"So whats the story with Nihlus?" I saw him when I had looked around the room lying in the bed next to me.

"Well, when you threw that knife, awesome throw by the way," Shepard started, "You knocked the other Turian's hand just far enough to only slightly graze Nihlus' spinal column. Right now he's in a coma and we don't know when he'll wake up, if ever."

"Great... Something tells me that's going to bite us in the ass... So what's our next course of action? I would assume that someone got a sample from that blood trail."

"We did, and we got a match but only with 60% certainty." Anderson spoke up.

"So who was the poor bastard?" I ask.

"A Turian Spectre... Saren Arterius." answered Anderson.

_Great... I go from saving a Spectre to accusing one of attempted murder of the other with evidence that couldn't hold a drop of water..._

"Whats our next course of action going to be then sir?"

"Well, we were hoping we could perhaps get a copy of your visors video feed. While you were out, we scanned you and your suit in depth so we could get a better understanding of it, as well as check on you of course. We found a data storage device, but its inside the helmet. The good doctor figured it would be best to wait till you woke up to get it." Anderson asked, almost pleadingly.

"Of course sir, just let me change and Kaiden can have at it. No offense sir, but I haven't gotten to know everyone else on the ship the greatest yet to let them handle the suit."

"Not a problem Mitchell. Once your changed, Kaiden will take your armor down to the cargo bay. I need to see you in my quarters. We have some things to discuss." Anderson spoke, with a hint of a smile at the end there as he turned and left.

"Glad to see your up and moving L.C.," Ash slapped my back.

"Wait, aren't you staying on Eden Prime?"

"Actually, Anderson had me transferred. Seeing how the four of us kicked so much Geth ass, he figured it would be a good idea to keep us together." She said grinning from ear to ear "I'm glad I get to work with the best on the most advance ship in the fleet!"

I had to laugh at her enthusiasm. "Well, we can kick major ass, but as someone once said 'all soldiers say they can't wait to go to war, but wish war on no one'" _Where the fuck did that come from?_

"Hmm... a SpecOps philosopher? This is turning out to be the most interesting stationing I've ever had..."

"Meh... I'll talk to you later Chief."

"Hey, when we aren't in the middle of a fight its Ashley or Ash, got it?" she said, almost getting ready for a fight

"Woah woah there... ok Ash," I put my hands up, feigning surrender, "No need to go hot headed into a battle that you can't win."

"We'll see, we may just have to have a sparring match..."

"Kaiden had first dibs, but sure why not... Now if you don't mind I'd like to get changed, it's not like I can wear any clothes under this suit." Ash raised an eyebrow, shook her head and left.

"She's a good soldier, I for one am glad she's on the crew," _woah almost forgot Shepard was still here_ "So, you sure your good? Your going through a helluva lot right now. You have no memory of your past, but you could probably fight a krogan unarmed and win, your mind interfaced with a 50,000 year old alien device, and you are apparently 193 years old."

"Yeah... I might take a while to adjust and get in the swing of things, but hell... Under the circumstances I'd almost consider you my brother right now... You and I certainly look and act the parts."

Shepard just grinned "Well, if we can't find anything about your past, I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind another son. Especially since you could keep an eye on me for her anyways..."

_Wow.. the fact that Shepard basically is offering me this... its almost too much..._

"Damnit Commander, you don't have to do that... I appreciate the gesture but first things first... I gotta see if there is anyone even related to me out there, and if they can tell me about my past..."

"Alright sounds good; and Ryan, I'm going to copy Ash on this, but when we aren't fighting call me John, ok?"

"Ok Co... John"

"Alright, now get changed and head on over to the Captains quarters, its just past the mess area."

"Right... I'll talk to you later then" and with that John left the medbay.

* * *

After I had changed into my ill fitting clothes from before, I made a beeline for the mess with one thought on my mind...

_Goddamnit I'm hungry..._

So I grabbed a power bar from a bowl that had them in the kitchen area and proceeded past the mess area and on to the Captains quarters.

_Huh... here's the Captains quarters, but where does everyone else sleep?_

Pushing the thought aside I knocked first, and immediately was greeted by Anderson's voice  
"Come", so I pushed the green button on the side and the doors split in half letting me enter.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes, Mitchell, please take a seat." He motioned to a chair facing his desk.

"There are a number of things we need to discuss. First off, you did an excellent job down on Eden Prime. It was like you and Shepard could read each others thoughts for tactical decisions."

"Thank you Captain, but I'm sure Shepard would say differently. I acted pretty rashly at some points during the mission."

"On the contrary, Shepard did acknowledge that but also stated that he would have done the exact same things you did had you not been there. Let's move on though. Since you played such a vital role, you will be the center of attention media wise and politically. We have come up with a cover story for now, but eventually someone who shouldn't will find out how you came to be here."

"Do you mind my asking what the cover story is?"

"Of course not, you're going to need it soon. We are heading to the Citadel in the hopes of convincing the Council to remove Saren's Spectre status and bring him to justice."

"No offense, but a 60% DNA match won't cut it and that's depending on if Kaiden can get the video feed from my suit."

"I know son, but we have to try. As far as your cover story goes, you grew up on earth in New York City an orphan, enlisted when you turned 18 to get away from the gangs, and showed enough proficiency to complete the N7 Special Ops training. You were assigned to me specifically so we could test out a new kind of battle armor in combat. Anyone doing a random search on you shouldn't be able to draw any other conclusions. Which brings me to my next point." Anderson paused at the end to give me time to memorize what he told me.

"You know we have been taking numerous scans of you and your suit. To tell the truth, even our guys in R&D would never have thought up anything like what you have. They begged me to send you and the suit back to Earth so they can study it and you." I was ready to burst with rage at that point but Anderson held up his hands. "Luckily I have friends in high places who agreed with me that it would be detrimental to submit you to that kind of environment, even if you agreed to it."

"Thank you Captain. Who do I have to thank for this?"

"Admiral Hackett, he has some pretty strong pull in the Alliance, and as such he has _secured_ you your back pay." Anderson smiled.

"Back pay? What do you mean?"

"Using our estimates, it seems that you have missed being paid for the past 170 years, and the Alliance always makes sure their soldiers get their pay. Here," he handed me a watch like device, "this is a standard omni-tool, with it you can access your funds."

I slipped on the device, and immediately it came to life glowing orange.

_GODDAMNIT WHY IS IT ORANGE!_

As soon as I finished my thought it changed to a deep blue

"Woah... Not gonna lie, I was just thinking about how all the displays I've been seeing have been orange, and now it changed to a color I like..."

"That brings me to the next point I wanted to talk about. When Chakwas finally completed her analysis of your blood, it turned up something strange. You had a high concentration of metal in your system. Upon further investiagtion, that metal was actually synthetic cells. We determined that your suit is the source of the cells. The cells are also how the suit is powered and operated. You mentioned that you felt like there was nothing between you and the outside world when you got in the suit. The nanocells as we are calling them, actually manipulate several biological systems in order to integrate the suit and the wearer."

"Ok sir before you go any further, I'll just summarize. Basically these nanocells are what allows me to connect to the suit and is what has enabled me to heal quickly, adapt to the translator implant, and manipulate the omni-tool you just gave me."

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Anderson shook his head.

"Are you sure you can't recall at one point being Shepard's brother?" he said while laughing.

"Nope, although if I can't find any hint of my past, he did make the offer."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, now I just want you to do a quick test for me. Think about these items: extra net, Systems Alliance, ID#09913812011"

As I did, my omni-tool which had turned off for the moment, flared back to life showing a picture of me, my basic information/history, and my current bank account balance...

"500,000,000 CREDITS?" I shouted

Anderson laughed even harder than before "Yeah, that's what it came out too. Taking inflation, interest, and a very favorable exchange rate into account. You'll also get the standard 40,000 credits a month pay like all N7s."

"Thank you sir." That was all I could muster at that point.

"Your welcome Mitchell, now I believe that Shepard had promised you a tour of the Normandy. For now though, he'll take you up to the combat deck to go meet the pilot and get ready to go on to the Citadel."

I stood up, standing straight, and raised my hand like I did in the comm room. Anderson did the same, having to look up to me and repeated the motion.

"Dismissed, Lt. Com."

* * *

As I stepped out of the Captain's quarters I saw John waiting for me.

"Hey, how did it go?" he asked.

"Well, I got my background cover story, learned how my suit functions, got some money, and learned that I have friends in high places." I couldn't help but smile. With Eden Prime behind us, things seemed to be going right for now at least.

"That's good to hear. I'd hate to lose such a capable soldier to backroom politics. So exactly how much money are we talking about by the way?"

I luaghed "You won't believe it if I told you."

I activated my omni-tool, causing John to ask, "Wait, how did you turn it blue?"

"Long story, but check this out..." I showed him my account balance. He almost fell over when he saw the amount.

"Damn... I'll have to see about going MIA for 170 years myself... You'll have plenty of opportunity to spend it on the Citadel too. Speaking of which lets head on up to the cockpit and introduce you to Joker, the pilot."

"Hey, so how is our resident cybernetic ass kicker doing?" were the first words out of Jokers mouth when John, Ash, Kaiden, and I reached the cockpit.

"Not bad, woke up didn't know who I was, kicked some robot ass, got mind raped by an alien device, and got knocked to fuck back out. Now I'm up and ready to kick some more ass... Any more questions?"

"No.. no I'm good... Just be gentle on the guy with glass for bones, ok?" Joker said sounding a little nervous.

John laughed a little bit, "It's about time someone other than me beat you at your own game"

"Yeah yeah whatever... Now don't interrupt me, its a very delicate procedure docking with the Citadel."

"Which is why you have a rather interesting site up on the Extranet while your doing it..." I commented having seen a minimized window.

"How did you... Never mind, I'll just end up with my ass in a sling... Citadel Tower this is _SSV Normandy_ requesting permission to dock."

"Standby _Normandy_, verifying transponder codes..."

Ash, Kaiden, and John were all over at the view port looking and talking about something...

"Damn that's the Destiny Ascension! That thing is huge!" Ash said.

"What are you guys looking at?" I asked.

"Come here and take a look," John said. "The giant cross shaped ship is the flagship of the Council."

I found what he was talking about... and damn it was massive... although it's actual size is hard to compare from the inside of a frigate traveling who-knows-how-fast through space near a station that's even bigger than said ship in question...

"Damn, and I assume that other giant thing is the Citadel?"

"Yup, the center of galactic politics, trading, and just about everything else." Kaiden mentioned.

I heard Joker conversing with the control tower next, "Roger that tower, heading to Alliance dock 422, thanks for the help."

* * *

"Ok, first things first. Ryan, no one outside of the ship has seen you and your armor, so our first stop is going to be the Alliance garrison that is a part of our docking area so we can get you some decent fitting clothes and some decent N7 armor. After that we have time to explore a bit, do a little bit of shopping, check out the sights and what not. Then we have to go to the Alliance Embassy, from there we'll go to our meeting with the Council." John informed us on the agonizingly slow elevator down from our dock to the garrison which served as the hub for the other 19 docks the Alliance was permitted to operate on the Citadel.

"Sounds good, if you guys see something you'd like let me know. Also, Kaiden were you able to get the video recorder from my helmet?"

"Yeah I was but unfortunately the interface between whatever tech your visor uses and what we use to extract data the video was corrupted. We were able to run a facial analysis, but the DNA results were actually better." Kaiden said, sounding disappointed.

"Don't let it bug you, we'll figure this out." I reply trying to ease the tension. I can tell that the other 3 want blood for what happened on Eden Prime;_ I just hope we can bring whatever bastard did this to justice_

When the elevator finally stopped, we were greeted by a bunch of weird looks from all the personnel who were going around the garrison doing their individual tasks. _Well lets see, we got 3 soldiers armed and armored to the teeth with a giant a guy walking around in ill fitting clothes and no shoes... I'd be curious too I suppose._

While we were at the armory, the guys who were behind the counter nearly doubled over when I told them I needed 2 pairs of fatigues and some armor. They obviously had never had to suit up a guy my size before. Eventually though they were able to get me what I needed, and rather than haul it all back to the Normandy, I asked if they could just send the fatigues up for me while I would get the armor on. After a little negotiating, they were more than willing to do it for 100 credits. The armor though was another matter entirely.

"Geez, how do you guys move in this? Its heavier than my suit and a lot less flexible." I asked

"Well for one you have the Heavy variation. It has better armor and shields than mine does but inhibits movement." John replied.

"So why did they give me this?"

"Because its the only variation that is made big enough for a guy like you. Now when you walk down a hall, you'll be intimidating even to a Krogan. Especially with that N7 logo on your chest now"

"Hell I'd pay money to see that fight," Ash said "My money would be on the L.C. Though hands down."

"Thanks Ash, but don't go looking for a Krogan for me to fight while we are here alright?" I had read up on them while I was waiting for the armor and found that the Krogan as species were warriors outright, were roughly the same size as me, weighed at minimum 600 pounds and had regenerative abilities that put my nanocells to shame.

We had _just_ exited the Alliance Garrison/Hub, when we heard "Hey Commander! Commander Shepard!" Everyone but John looked towards the voice, to see a man who looked to enthusiastic for his own good.

"Oh goddamnit... Hi Conrad." John said, the annoyance in his voice was lost on Conrad.

"I heard you were back on the Citadel, and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to meet the Lion of Elysium and his protege, the Savior of Eden Prime, Lieutenant Commander Ryan Mitchell!"

_Oh god... I hope John knows this guy well enough to get him off our backs..._

"Look, Conrad, we are very busy. What do you need?" John asked.

"Don't worry Commanders, I just wanted a picture of the Alliances two greatest heroes! If one of your comrades here could take a picture of the three of us I'll be on my way!"

John looked at me, almost pleadingly. I just nodded my head in response.

"Ok, Conrad. _ONE_ photo then we have to get going." John spoke.

* * *

"God John, I hope I don't get the same fan club as you" I teased later when Conrad was out of ear shot.

"Me too, Conrad just doesn't have a sense of..." John started before Ash interrupted

"common sense?" We all laughed at that. We toured around the Upper and Lower Wards, stopping at an Italian joint for some pizza.

"You know, this is my first meal I've actually had." I commented as we sat a corner table eating a giant pizza that we had ordered.

"Wait what?" Ash asked "How can this be the first meal you've had?"

John started talking before I could in a very quiet voice "We found Ryan here adrift in space between Jupiter and the asteroid belt. He was wearing his armor when we brought him aboard and when he woke up he had no memory of who he was or where he came from. All we know about his is what we got from his dog tags. He was a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force, and was born March 9th, 1990."

Ash, who was chewing on a bite of pizza, had stopped chewing and had her mouth open. A few seconds after John had stopped talking, she recovered. "Damn, L.C. You certainly know how to make things interesting."

"Yeah... We can talk more on the Normandy. The Captain told me to be careful about spreading that information."

"No doubt..."

"Anyways, I'm surprised at all the aliens that are eating here. You'd think they would be enjoying their own cuisine."

"Actually, when humanity made its grand entrance 20 years ago, a lot of aliens were quick to want to learn about us. The Asari especially. For some reason, they tend to want to embrace every culture there is." John answered

"If I remember right, don't the Turians and Quarians have different dietary needs?"

"That they do. Everyone else besides those two races have levo based amino acids. The Turians and Quarians have dextro based amino acids. As such they can't eat our food and we can't eat theirs." Kaiden was the one who answered me this time.

After having a great meal with my three squad mates, it was time for us to get to the human embassy. We grabbed a sky car and learned that John isn't the greatest driver there is, even though there weren't any bumps or potholes for him to hit.

"John, where on earth did you learn to drive?" I asked as we exited the car.

"That's the problem L.C., he didn't learn on Earth." Ash deadpanned.

"If you guys thought that was rough, wait till we are in the Mako," Kaiden warned us.

"Great... I think Ill stick to running in my suit if we ever have to use the Mako"

* * *

We got into a little trouble concerning our weapons at the embassy check in, but Anderson called down and told the Asari receptionist we were expected, we were able to go on to our embassy.

"Anderson, I see you saw fit to bring your entire crew with you." an older, dark skinned, and balding man in what appeared to be a fine suit spoke.

"Just the ground team from Eden Prime Ambassador Udina, in case there are any questions."

_Udina huh?... I don't like him already..._

"As a matter of fact there is... The Lieutenant Commander here is stated as using a prototype armor system; I'm sure the Council would have liked to see him in it." Udina spoke.

"Ambassador, the armor system you mentioned is currently undergoing a post mission diagnostic. As such, it can't be used for at least 48 hours. Seeing that it is still an Alliance project the Council will have to wait for a full report from the Alliance and myself." _There, that should shut him up..._ Anderson gave me a small approving nod. _Booyah bitch._

"I see, but the Council will not be happy at the accusations you and your crew are making Anderson. A Spectre attempting to kill another Spectre? And the only evidence you have are a shoddy DNA match and unreliable video? There is also the matter of the destroyed beacon!"

"HEY! I know you don't like the facts but they are what they are! I saw a Turian attempting to kill Nihlus, and did what I could to save him. Then upon securing the beacon, a safety protocol must have been tripped causing the beacon to interface with my mind. Like it or not that's what happened and we can't change it!" I yelled, causing Udina to tremble. Even John and Anderson took a step back.

After a few moments of silence Udina started back up, "Well, good for you that C-Sec launched their own investigation into Saren when the report was forwarded. We'll have to hope they came up with better evidence than what you procured. The hearing will start in about an hour in the Council Chamber. Anderson and I will meet you four there."

Anderson was slow going out of the office, typing something on his omni-tool. A moment after he left, mine beeped at me. I activated seeing a waiting message from Anderson:

"_Nice job there Mitchell. Udina hasn't been put in his place in a long time, especially someone of your stature..."_

I laughed outloud and reread the message for the other three who agreed that Udina was just one of many assholes we'll have to deal with.

* * *

"Well, that went better than expected..." I commented.

"Yeah, considering we just got told off by the Council for accusing one of their best agents of attempting to murder another and that they will be launching an inquiry about your armor, we are having a blast!" Ash said.

The four of us are in the elevator on our way down to the Presidum from the Council Chamber.

"Yeah and your comment about the wound on his hand didn't exactly help." I countered.

"Hey, I know I throwing knife wound when I see one... I'm surprised he was able to lie through his teeth about it."

"None of that matters, we gotta find Harkin so he can tell us where Garrus is." John said. "Hopefully Garrus has found a new lead while we were in the hearing."

"Yeah, speaking of Turians," I interjected, "anyone else feel like the Turian Councilor has a bit of grudge against us?"

"Yeah a grudge as big as a dreadnought." Ash replied.

* * *

"Well, we learned 3 things from that trip. #1 Harkin is another ass and an even worse example of humanity, #2 We may have to go see what that Krogan was causing a fuss about, and #3 Garrus is at Dr. Michel's." John said as we exited Chora's den.

"Don't forget that we learned that EVERYONE likes the Asari," Kaiden joked.

"AND that all men have the same perverted mind." Ash added.

"Hey now! I have a total life experience of 2 and a half days under my belt! I'd like to exclude myself from that group!"

"Bull shit L.C.! I saw you oogling the Asari at the table next to us!"

After about a 15 minute walk through the upper and lower wards, we finally reached the Doctor's Office. John led the way in, but as soon as the door opened all hell broke loose.

A thug had the doctor at gunpoint using her as cover from us, when all of a sudden a Turian in blue armor who had been hiding at the corner came out and nailed the idiot of a thug in the head. There were 3 others with him, but 5 soldiers against 3 thugs was bound to end nasty for the thugs.

_Ok either I was really lucky or they were bad shots, but my shields never took a damn hit!_

"Good timing Shepard, you and your crew here gave me the opening I was looking for," Garrus spoke.

"What were you thinking!"John yelled,_ Damn he's intimidating when he gets angry,_ "You could have hit the Doctor!"

"I wasn't thinking I just reacted..." He said sheepishly. "Doctor Michel are you alright?"

"Yes I am, thanks to you five."

"I hate to be the inconsiderate one here, but what were those guys threatening you for?" I asked.

"They worked for Fist, and they were trying to convince me to not say anything to Garrus here about a Quarian I treated. When she came in, she had a bullet wound and was looking to meet the Shadow Broker in person. So I put her in contact with Fist."

"Except that Fist doesn't work for the Broker anymore" Garrus corrected.

"Wow, Fist must be the biggest idiot there is to pull that kind of move." John commented.

"Yeah, speaking of Fist, you guys remember that Krogan we ran into in Chora's?" I ask as which everyone just looked at me expecting me to continue. "Anyways, they were talking about Fist and how eventually the one named Wrex would kill him."

"Ah Wrex, we brought him in for a talk when Fist called us saying he was disturbing the peace." Garrus spoke.

"Hell, having an actual Krogan _and _Mitchell here would be a big boost in firepower. Lets go get him." John said.

* * *

After a rather cramped air car ride to C-Sec, Garrus was able to find where they were "talking" to Wrex. The Krogan must have seen us approach and was able to get rid of the rather small C-Sec officer threatening him with an arrest.

"You Wrex?" Shepard asked.

"What if I am? Who are you?" Wrex grunted out.

"The name's Shepard. I heard you were going after Fist, I'd like your help."

Wrex looked at each of us with almost calculating eyes. When he reached me though he stopped.

"Who are you? I have never seen a human the likes of you... Are you sure your not a krogan half breed?"

"No, I am human. The name is Lieutenant Commander Ryan Mitchell."

"Ah... I was wondering that my self actually..." Garrus muttered that under his breath.

"So your the Savior of Eden Prime... If you and I ever get the chance I would relish fighting you" Wrex spoke with a smile developing.

"Yeah your not the only one, but I wouldn't mind a sparring match against you as well."

"Very well. Shepard, Mitchell. My people have a saying... Find the enemy of your enemy and you will find a friend." Wrex said extending his hands towards John and my self.

"I think we are going to get along great Wrex." John said

* * *

To avoid majoring space issues, John drove one aircar with Wrex and Kaiden while Ash and I rode with Garrus. The three of us ended up waiting for John who apparently didn't know the shortest route as he proclaimed to Garrus before we left.

"So it seems our Commander not only is a bad driver but doesn't have the best sense of direction either." Ash said while we waited at the rendezvous point.

"Yet another question I've been meaning to ask. How is it that your squad has two Commanders? Wouldn't your chain of command get screwed up?" Garrus asked.

"Shepard is actually a Staff Commander, one rank above me and one away from becoming a Captain. As far as my story goes, I was assigned to the Normandy to test out a new kind of armor the Alliance has been developing." I answered.

"Yeah I heard about that. While the extranet news didn't go into much detail, it certainly painted an interesting picture. I can't wait to see you in action Mitchell."

"Good luck finding him Garrus, he can be a ghost on the battlefield." Ash commented with a shit eating grin on her face.

"Wait... What do you mean?" Garrus started.

"FINALLY! Shepard is here!" I cried out, ignoring Garrus' last question.

"Before _ANY_ of you say anything... Remember I'm your CO..." John warned as he got out of the car.

There was a moment of silence... then Ash broke it with "So Kaiden, enjoy the scenery?"

* * *

Once everyone got calmed down from Ash's comment, Shepard laid out the battle plan. With Chora's Den closed, it was a safe bet that Fist and his goons were waiting for us. Since Wrex and myself were the biggest targets we would go in first, followed by Kaiden and Garrus, with John and Ash taking up the rear. While Wrex and I drew potential fire away, Kaiden and Garrus would cause even more havoc by using tech mines to over heat guns, while John and Ash would clean up whatever Wrex and I missed.

Once John was done outlining the plan I had to comment "You know, if I had my armor I could have just snuck in, grabbed the guy, got the info, and then snuck back out..."

"Your right Mitchell, but you don't and besides, if these guys are dumb enough to work for Fist, it's better that we get rid of them now." John said cooly, almost with out any care in his voice.

"And I never pass up a fight thats presented to me, Mitchell. Especially with a squad like we got now." Wrex chimed in.

"Right. On your signal Commander..." I spoke as Wrex and I lined up on either side of the door.

John nodded his, mentally counting... _1... 2... _"GO GO!" he yelled.

With out any hestitaion Wrex and I opened the door and stepped through. _Lets see... 20 thugs in the main bar, looks like they set up defensive cover... Too bad its already become offensive cover... _I look over at Wrex, _4 shot gun blasts, four dead bodies... He is definitely not a Krogan worth messing with..._ I'm able to nail 4 guys of my own, but only after taking significant damage to my shields. _Damn... 30 seconds and I'm already down to 20% sheild strength... and they're using PISTOLS for godsakes!_

Thankfully, Garrus and Kaiden entered the fray after both Wrex and I took cover at the second set of barricades (barricades meaning over turned tables). Their tech mines disabled an addition 3 thugs each, giving Wrex and I plenty of time to wipe those 6 out...

_14 down... 6 left out here... SHIT there's that Krogan Wrex got into it with earlier!_

Wrex not being one to suffer others lightly, immediately ran at the other Krogan, firing his shotgun wildly. I turn my attention to the 6 other thugs, with my shields recharged I burst from cover and do a charge of my own towards a group of 3 firing my pistol. My shots all hit home in their chests, but I hear a faint crackle and notice my shields are gone!

_FUCK!_ _One of the bastards must have some tech mines!_

I feel the heat of a few bullets for by as I dive for the nearest cover... a chair on the ground next to the bar.

_Thank god the build these things to take a krogan... _

I feel something warm drip down my back but figure its from one of the overturned bottles above me.

With my back towards the hallway leading to Fists office, I see John and Ash come rushing in with assault rifles blazing at the 3 idiots shooting at me. A split second later I hear 3 bodies hit the ground... _4+4+3+3+3+3+1 krogan = 21... lets get this party moving!_

As I get up from my cover I look at Wrex and see his armor covered in orange blood... and the front half of the other Krogan's face missing...

"Nice... Shotty to the face is always classy Wrex." I comment.

"The best is when they realize its coming." He replied, his voice making the statement sound even more sinister.

"Come on, Fist's office is at the end of the hall." John said, causing us to all fall in line behind him.

Getting to Fists office was easy, just a few steps down the hall. A couple of dock workers almost got their heads blown off, but John simply told them to get the hell outta there. That earned a small remark from Wrex about we should have just killed them and been done with it, and a rebuttal from John saying that we should always spare lives when possible.

Getting **into** Fist's office was tricky. After some apparently fancy hacking done by Shepard and Garrus, the doors finally opened. Fist was alone in his office, wearing what looked like very durable and expensive armor. As soon as we all entered, he activated two hidden turrets, which were deactivate just as quickly by a pair of tech mines from Garrus. One shot gun blast and a short burst from a rifle and Fist and his shields were down.

_Wow... that was easy... If he was so concerned about us getting to him, why didnt he arm his guards more appropriately? _

"Alright alright I'll talk!" Fist cried out.

"Where's the Quarian?" John asked, getting right to the point.

"She's meeting my people in an alley behind the wards." Fist answered feebly.

"Where?" John asked, growing more and more irritated.

"Here, but you'll never make it...," he spoke pointing to a location on his omni-tool. "The meeting's going to happen in five minutes!"

At that John cracked, pulling his pistol and shooting Fist in the face.

"Hey! That was my kill and contract!" Wrex bellowed.

"Well, if you ask me he's still alive, and you've got 5 other eye witnesses to support that..." Shepard said turning to head out. All of us except Wrex, who stays behind. Just as we enter the main bar area we hear his shotgun blast.

As we hear Wrex stomp his way out to us, John turns to me saying "Ryan, you are the fastest out of all of us. I need you to run to this spot and stop that meeting from happening." I look at John's omni-tool and notice its half a click away and the straightest route is through the markets.

"Wait, I'm pretty fast myself, I'll join you Mitchell." Garrus says. I simply nod, and as soon as I hear my omni-tool beep, I holster my pistol and head run out of the bar, ignoring the thugs trying to make their way in. Garrus and I are both running as fast we can, neither of us slowing down or falling behind.

_Gotta hurry, gotta get there before Fists men get that Quarian... Damnit legs move faster!_

Slowly I start to pull ahead of Garrus, and eventually I can't see him in my peripheral vision. Meanwhile I'm dodging market customers and vendors left and right. I'm pretty sure I knocked a few people down, but I don't care...

* * *

_I don't like this... The Shadow Broker should have met me here 5 minutes ago... Keelah Tali how did you get yourself into this mess?_ _Wait, someone's coming... A turian and 2 salarians... One would think the Shadow Broker would have Krogan for bodyguards..._

"You got the data?" the Turian asked, moving to put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hands off," I reply, batting the Turians arm down. "Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" _Keelah..._

"They'll be here..." _I knew it._

"No... The deals off..." I tell the Turian.

"I'm sorry, but Saren **really** wants that da..." Before the Turian can finish, I kick him in the stomach. _The Bost'het! _I think as I throw a grenade at the salarians, throwing them off their feet. While everyone is down, I dove for the nearest cover to catch my breath. Grabbing my shotgun, I take a deep breath to get ready... Before I can get out of my cover I hear shots, but not aimed at me... _Whats going on?_

* * *

I almost didn't make it. As soon as I rounded the corner I saw a hooded figure dive off to what appeared to be a closet after throwing a grenade at two salarians. _That's gotta be her, well time to play the prince in shining armor!_

With out slowing down I run down the alley, so that I'm right next to the salarians. One head shot each with their shields already down makes quick work of them. Before I can sight down the turian I hear a the crack of a sniper rifle and look behind me to see Garrus holding his still smoking rifle. Giving him a nod in appreciation, I holster my gun yet again.

_Probably not a good idea to approach this woman with a weapon in hand..._

As soon as I get to an angle where I can see her, I can tell she's just dumbstruck...

"Miss? I'm Lt. Com. Ryan Mitchell..." I start off before being interupted.

"Damnit! I knew I shouldn't have trusted that bosh'tet! Fist set me up!" she cried out.

"Well you don't have to worry about him any more, miss...?"

"Ah sorry, forgive me. My name is Tali. Tali'Zorah vas Neema. Thank you for rescuing me."

"No problem, but I heard that you have some information on Saren Artieus?"

"Yes I do, but how do you know?"

"Long story, lets get you back to the Alliance embassy. You'll be safe there."

"Agreed, your Ambassador will want to hear my evidence"

* * *

"Damnit Shepard! Gunfights and property damage in the wards! What the hell do you think your doing! Do the words political shitstorm mean anything to"

"Can it ambassador. My team and I were doing what you told us to do. We have evidence that Saren betrayed the Council!" _Thank you Shepard! Glad someone other than me can shut the bastard up_.

"Yes, and as far as your team goes... I see you have nearly doubled in size, planning a party are we?"

"As a matter of fact yes... We are going to celebrate us finding this evidence by going out and shooting up every bar and stripclub on the Zakera ward!" I commented.

Before Udina could say anything, Anderson who had been watching the spectacle unfold stepped in, "Who brought this evidence in, and what is it exactly?"

"I did, and its an audio fragment that I extracted from a geth memory core." She proceeded to play the recording. Having listened to it on the way to the embassy, I zoned out for a while.

"That proves it! Saren is a traitor to the Council!" Anderson declared.

"Hold on, there was another voice on the recording." She proceeded to play a different part of the message.

"_and one step closer to the return of the Reapers"_ spoke an almost chilling voice... When I heard 'Reapers' though, something in my mind clicked but I didn't know exactly what... John must have noticed the face I was making and asked "What's up Mitchell?"

"I don't know, but when I heard 'Reapers' something in my head clicked, like I've heard it before, but not for a long time. It might have something to do with the visions I received from the beacon."

"Well according to the Geth memory core, the Reapers were an ancient machine race that killed the Protheans and hid themselves somewhere and are now returning." Tali said

"Yeah... The vision makes sense now... The death and suffering I saw caused by machines was the Reapers killing and annihilating the Protheans!" I cried out.

"I'm not to convinced of this Reaper business, but this talk about The Conduit and the results of Eden Prime should be more than enough to get Saren's Spectre status revoked and him brought in for questioning." Udina said... _Ass hat..._ "But what about the Quarian, and if she's on Pilgrimage"

"My name is Tali!" She said, with annoyance in her voice, "And yes while I'm on Pilgrimage, I can chose where I want to go. The point of the Pilgrimage is for young Quarians to prove themselves to the Migrant Fleet by being unselfish. What kind of example would I set if I didn't help bring down this Saren considering what I've done already? Commanders, one of you have seen me in action. I can hold my own in a fire fight and I can hack any terminal we may come across."

"Shepard, she's got some skills; I can vouch for her there." I told him.

John looked at Tali, as if doing some calculations. The finally he spoke "Hell, all you had to do was ask. Welcome aboard Tali."

"Thank you Commander." She replied with a bow of her head.

"Ok, now I've requested an emergency meeting with the Council," Udina spoke, "Shepard, we'll only need you to come this time along with Anderson."

"Mitchell, Kaiden, Ash? Would you three escort our newest squad mates to the Normandy? When the Captain and I are finished with the Council, I'll send you a message."

"Yes sir!" All three of us reply in unison.

_Well now... I got a feeling something major is going to happen at that meeting... I just hope we get to be the ones to take Saren down..._

* * *

_**A/N:**_I know this isn't the best spot for a chapter to end, but this chapter is by far the longest one yet! This chapter was also the hardest one to write, conversations are one of my weak points. Eventually I will come back and rewrite this chapter.

The next chapter will be delayed for some time due to the fact that it is my 21st birthday on wednesday, and I will be spending the weekend partying. I'm hoping to have the next chapter posted by late next week.

If you haven't, please visit my profile to vote on the poll if Benezia should live or die on Noveria.

Also I am considering dumping the Kaiden/Tali relationship I have in this fic's summary, its almost too much of a stretch even for a fan fic.

As always reviews are welcome! Any and all ideas will be considered!


	6. Red Tape II: To Each Their Own

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 6: Red Tape, Pt. II "To Each Their Own"

* * *

**A/N**: I'M BAAACK!

OK not going to lie, with Chapter 5 getting over 100 hits in a matter of hours, I was expecting more votes in the poll. While I hope more people will vote, as soon as I post Chapter 7 the poll will close.

Just to clarify some things, I'm expecting that most of the readers of the fic will have played through Mass Effect 1 and 2 enough to know the basic layouts of the various worlds and locations which is why I don't/won't go into too much detail there.

As far as introducing any upgrades/Crysis 2 items, those will come in time as the story develops ("I" haven't recovered any significant memories yet!). The nanosuit may be a technological marvel but it too has weaknesses that can be exploited...

Ok enough ranting...

* * *

Since Shepard, Anderson, and Mr. Asshat aka Udina, left for the Council meeting, Ash, Kaiden, and myself ended up having to explain to the Alliance grunts at the docks why we were bringing 3 aliens to the Normandy. While they would be intimidating to anyone else with their stature, they were on the receiving end now. Luckily, being a Lt. Com. and the Savior of Eden Prime has its perks. After throwing my name and rank around, the grunts quickly apologized not wanting to piss off a giant of a man followed by a Krogan, a Turian, a Quarien and two Marines all armed in some fashion.

"Geez L.C., those guys must have been shaking in their boots when they saw you." Ash said when we were in the elevator that would take us to the Normandy's dock.

"Nah, they were probably more afraid of Wrex than anything. Hell his shotgun is bigger than my arm!"

"Actually, their body language suggested otherwise," Tali offered, "the way they were looking at you and how they kept shifting their weight indicates that they were more concerned about you at the moment."

"Where did you learn how to read body language Tali?" I asked.

"Before Quarians leave for Pilgrimage we are taught on the mannerisms and customs of several races to prepare us for any encounter."

"Nice, that could come in handy on missions." As I finish what I'm saying, the elevator finally stops and opens up, revealing the Normandy in all its glory.

Garrus and Tali were awestruck... Wrex not so much.

"Ok guys lets go in before the Keepers take Garrus and Tali thinking they are trash." Kaiden comments leading the way into the air lock. Wrex followed suit while Garrus and Tali finally break the trances they were in and go on in as well. Ash and I bring up the rear of the pack. The decontamination chamber though can only hold four people at the same time (something about not getting the occupants clean enough), so Ash and I end up waiting outside while the others go through the cycle.

"Hey L.C., mind if I ask you something?" Ash said as soon as the Normandy's outer door closed on us.

"Sure, shoot."

"Well, I know you don't know a whole lot about the various alien races, but are you comfortable working with these guys? I mean we are letting non-Alliance people onto the most advanced ship in the fleet! Not to mention that one of them could be a spy for Saren."

_Hmm... Damn... she does have a point...but..._

"Garrus has a solid record at C-Sec, and he was willing to throw that away to help us. Wrex, while being a mercenary has stuck with us even though he fufilled his contract with the Shadow Broker. That to me means that he wants to see Saren dead. Then as far as Tali goes, she was on the run from Saren, went looking for protection and who better than us to help her. Granted that if you wanted to be _REALLY _skeptic of anyone it would be Tali, but she's too committed to helping her people."

"Damn L.C., you should become a psychatrist. You'd make a killing."

"Or you could just talk to them when you get a chance and learn a little about them." While enroute from the embassy to the Normandy, I had made sure to get Wrex, Garrus, and Tali away from the group a bit to ask some questions and start the process of getting to know them. The outer door had finally opened and Ash and I stepped into the decontamination chamber. "You of all people should know that in order for a squad to work together, the members need to trust each other." _Damnit another one of those sayings that come from no where... I wonder if its a part of my memory coming back..._

Ash was quiet for the rest of the cycle, but before the doors opened revealing the rest of the squad, she said "Thanks, I needed that."

* * *

Kaiden gave the grand tour, _gonna have to give John some grief about this_, introducing us to Joker in the cockpit who demonstrated his brilliant wit with a crack about how Shepard must be starting a traveling zoo. On our way back to the CIC, we met Pressly who gave us a brief rundown of what was on the combat deck and suggesting that we go visit Chakwas next.

While down on the crew deck, Chakwas had Wrex, Garrus, and Tali stick around in the med bay for some quick medical and physical scans. While we waited, I had to ask a question I had been saving for a while now.

"Hey Kaiden, what are those pods jutting out from the wall over there?"

"Those are sleeper pods. If a crew member wants to grab some rack time with out going to their quarters they can climb in one of those and sleep somewhat comfortably. Its quieter than the ship crew quarters, so many of the crew choose to sleep there."

"Wait... Ship crew quarters? What do you mean?" I asked, being confused at the idea.

"Well, considering the stress most ground assault teams go through, they generally get their own small compartment. There's enough room for a bed, some sitting room, and a small wash room. But its all very utilitarian. Its not much, the beds are still standard issue, but the fact that we have some place to go to get some private time is nice."

"So how many of these quarters are there?"

"Not counting the Captains and the ship crew's, seven total."

_Ok, so John, Ash, Kaiden, myself, Garrus, Wrex, and Tali... thats 7... whew!_

"Ok thats good to know, and look whose done with their first visit to Doctor Chakwas!" I reply seeing the 3 come on out of the medbay. "Have fun?"

"HA! I won't need to go back in there ever again. I'll be able to take care of my own wounds." Wrex barked out.

"Well aren't you special Wrex? I for one was surprised she knew as much as she did about Turian physiology. I feel better about this mission already!" Garrus said

"Yeah, just don't go in after having your head torn apart by a Prothean beacon, I'm not sure she likes getting repeat cases." I replied. Garrus gave me a puzzling look along with Wrex while Tali just tilted her head to the side. "Ok, while on Eden Prime, Ash here accidentally activated a Prothean beacon's safety protocol. So I reacted and got her out of the way. The beacon the proceeded to interface with my mind giving me some sort of vision that I can't make heads or tails of."

Tali was the first to speak up, "What happened to the beacon?"

"After L.C. here collapsed, it blew up on us." Ash answered for me.

"Damn... If it could have been saved... Who knows what kind of information was stored inside it!" Tali exclaimed. "Not to say that I'm not happy you survived Mitchell." She quickly apologized.

"Bah, don't worry about it. Now Kaiden, I believe we have some more of the ship to tour?"

* * *

After touring the rest of the ship, including the "rest deck" as Kaiden put it, the last stop was the Cargo Bay/Engineering. Since Kaiden was working on getting the video data from my suit earlier, he had left it fully assembled by the work desk in the corner. As we all piled off the elevator, I heard a loud gasp from behind me.

"Keelah its a Geth!" Tali shrieked pushing her way past the rest of us, grabbing her shot gun in the process. In one quick motion she had it unpacked and aimed at my suit!

"Tali WAIT!" I call out but its too late, the next thing I hear is the loud bang of her shotgun going off. I look at my armor expecting to see several holes considering it wasn't powered. To my surprise it was perfectly fine! It swayed a little bit from the blast but still stood completely upright. Tali is obviously in shock as well and takes another shot at the suit, but producing no results.

"**TALI!**" I yell loudly to get it through her head, "**THAT'S MY ARMOR!**"

Tali turned to look at me, with an what I can only assume to be a confused face. I walk in front of her, putting my hand on the shotgun forcing her to lower it. Once she has it pointed to the ground, I motion Kaiden over to help get the suit apart.

_Probably should find a way to remedy that... and soon_

We get the helmet off and toss it over to Ash to show Tali that its empty...

"But... that can't be an armor system as advanced as the extranet says it was... There's no room for motorized joints, propulsion packs, or even a power cell!" She cries out, obviously getting more and more confused in the process.

"I have to agree, it does seem very durable Mitchell, but durability comes at price." Wrex chimed in.

Garrus on the other hand was a bit more believing, "Well, Mitchell here is a very capable soldier in every aspect, strength, endurance, and intelligence. So lets give him the benefit of the doubt."

_Well damnit, John and I can't lead them to take down Saren if they don't believe that we can pull it off_

"Tell you what, let me go change in the Mako and I'll give you guys a taste of what I can do with my armor." I respond, almost challenging them to stay.

"L.C... You sure that's a good idea? What if something goes wrong?" Ash asked, the concern evident in her voice as I began to go grab the suit.

"She has a point, Mitchell. We can't chase down Saren if we are injured doing stupid tricks." Kaiden added.

"Ok, _I_ won't hurt anyone and _I _won't get hurt. I can guarantee that, and I'd like it if you guys would stick around so we all have something to remember our first day working with these guys by."

Ash leaned back against the Mako to think, and Kaiden seemed to wait on what she would say.

Finally, after about a minute, I got my answer, "Alright L.C., hell I'll even record it for Shepard!"

"I'm sure he'll love what I'm about to do," I say chuckling to myself.

* * *

"Ok, he's been in the Mako for 10 minutes, where the hell is he!" Wrex grumbled.

"Think we should check on him?" Tali asked.

"Nah, if Mitchell is anything like Shepard, then the demonstration already started." Ash said.

Her and Kaiden were still by the Mako, and both had felt a double tap on their shoulders signaling that Mitchell had just walked by them.

"What do you mean already started? He isn't even out here!" Wrex hollered out.

* * *

"And that's where your wrong Wrex" I call out using the suits amplified voice speaker. " I have been out here for a good 5 minutes now." I had walked extremely slowly to preserve my energy reserves and it had paid off. Garrus, Wrex, and Tali were standing in a semi circle between the work desk and Mako facing the Mako. I had maneuvered around them and was leaning on the desk when I finally spoke out loud.

"Bull shit! No one can become invisible!" Wrex yelled back towards the Mako, thinking my voice had come from there thanks to the amplified receiver.

"Oh really? Look at the work desk..." All three of them then turned around looking at the desk intently.

"There's nothing there except for that pistol," Garrus said.

"Watch this then..." I replied as I grabbed the pistol causing the weapon to disappear. When I looked back at the three of them all I saw were looks of confusion and awe. _Ok enough of cloak mode..._ I switched back to armor mode becoming visible again. If Garrus, Wrex's (and I'm sure Tali's) mouths could open any wider, we would be able to fit the Mako inside of the them.

"You guys planning on eating something?" I call out.

"How... The physics... It's impossible!" Tali cried out

"That... was... impressive... I could have used that in some of my investigations..." Garrus muttered.

"Hmph... A real warrior doesn't hide from his enemies." Wrex snorted.

"Ok then Wrex, tell me whats the strongest weapon you have?" I replied.

"Easy, my shotgun's Carnage shot."

"Garrus?"

"Hmm... I'd have to say my sniper rifle armor piercing shot."

"Tali?"

"Same as Wrex's"

"Ok then... I want you guys to get those shots ready... and when I give the order I want you to fire them at me."

"WHAT!" was the collective response I got from everyone in the Cargo Bay.

"Ash, Kaiden, I'll be fine. Garrus, Wrex and Tali, do as I say."

Wrex had no problem getting his shot lined up, Garrus took his time as if to give me a chance to back out, while Tali was fumbling all over the place with her shotgun. Eventually they were all ready.

"Ok, Ash and Kaiden you better be recording this, and on 3 guys... 1... 2... 3!"

I feel a strong impact on the center of my chest followed by another one on my stomach but niether are enough to knock me over. _Suit is fine... energy at 30% and integrity at 60%... Garrus wasn't kidding about the armor peircing, thats what did 40% to the integrity_

After making sure the suit was ok, I looked over at the firing squad and realized that Tali didn't fire her shotgun while Garrus and Wrex were just staring at me.

"Damn Mitchell... If you can take a hit from an armor piercing round and a Carnage shot and not fall over, you are one tough son of a bitch." Garrus commented

"Hell the Turian is right about something... If you were on Tuchanka you'd have breeding requests left and right. That's not taking into account you were willing to take on another Carnage round as well... You've got a quad Mitchell."

Tali on the other hand was quiet, and was looking down at the floor. _Huh... I'll have to figure that one out later..._

"I'm not done yet... Wrex how much do you weigh?"

"I don't know, its been awhile, but I'd say maybe 750 pounds. Why?"

"No reason..." I say walking over having activated strength mode. When I got close enough, I grabbed his arm and leg and picked him up in the air over my head. As soon as I started lifting he began to slightly panic and squirm. _Wow... only used 20% of my energy so far and its steadily dropping..._ Having proven my point by holding Wrex up in the air for about a minute I set him back down half expecting him to begin to attack me.

Instead he began in a low and barely audible voice, "Mitchell... Being lifted off of our feet is a Krogan's worst fear, for it means that whatever it was that did, it is capable of defeating us in combat... Such creatures or people that can do that are given respect greater than that of a Battlemaster... You have earned that respect from me..."

_Oh damn!_

"Thank you Wrex, but I still have one more thing. Garrus?"

Garrus was paying half attention, trying to figure out how I managed to lift a Krogan with ease, when he snapped out it, "Yeah, Mitchell?"

"Feel up to a race?"

"Umm... OK sure why not?"

We decided on the same thing as Kaiden and I had done earlier with a modification. Instead of running through Engineering, it would be more of a relay race. We would start at the bay door then run to the elevator and back making three round trips.

"On your marks... get set... GO!" Kaiden yelled starting the race.

While in speed mode it was easy to keep pace with Garrus, who was using long strides to make short work of the distance. I opted for a half way method, for a medium stride but faster turnovers. The first "lap" was a dead tie, but feeling the need to show off, I stepped it up with out summoning the boost. At the end of the second lap I had a two stride lead on Garrus who was beginning to tire. I decided to use a small boost for the first leg of the final lap, putting my self way ahead of Garrus. Then to finish the race, I used a full boost to go from the elevator to the bay door before Garrus even reached the elevator.

As I raced by him, he just stopped in place and watched.

"I think you won, Mitchell." Garrus said finally catching his breath.

I looked over at Wrex who gave me an approving nod, and noticed Tali wasn't looking at me but rather at my feet.

_Huh… I would have thought she's be ecstatic at what the suit can do…_

Then Kaiden brough me back from my thoughts, "So Mitchell, you done showing off now?"

I walk over to him laughing, "Yeah, I think we can all settle down for a while now. You guys can go do what you want, as long as it doesn't damage the ship or equipment."

"Great, I want to check out the guns on the Mako and see what I can do to improve them." Garrus said excitedly.

Tali spoke next, albeit softly "Ok, I'm going to be in Engineering then."

Wrex had just gone on over to a stack of crates to sit down, slightly denting one as he did, with out saying anything. Ash and Kaiden made a bee line for the elevator when I heard a small chime. Recognizing it as my omni-tool I thought about the chime and it flared to life, illuminating my armored arm in a blue hologram. Then a window opened revealing a video feed from… _Captain Anderson!_

"Hey guys! Come check this out! I got a video feed from the Captain!" I called out, as everyone rushed over, somebody started talking.

* * *

"In light of this new evidence against Saren, his Spectre status is immediately revoked." The Turian Councilor spoke.

"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Udina yelled

"The Ambassador is right," John joined in, "Saren more than likely has an army of Geth under his command. Just because his Spectre status is removed doesn't mean he is no longer a threat."

"The Commander makes a valid point, perhaps there is a way for everyone to get what they want…" The Asari Councilor spoke.

"NO! It's too soon!" the Turian Councilor denied. "With Nihlus unable to comment on Shepard's performance we have no real proof of his skills or his competence!"

"There is also the matter of Matriarch Benezia as well, she commands a powerful group of followers." Commented the Salarian Councilor.

Suddenly from the side an aide came rushing in and spoke quietly with the three Council members.

After several minutes the Council faced Shepard, Anderson, and Udina. After a short while the Council looked back towards the three humans on the platform below them.

"It seems that Nihlus has awoken and wants to give us his official report on what happened at Eden Prime…"

A holographic image of Nihlus appeared next to the Council.

_Damn… He looks pretty rough…_ John thought. Nihlus was in some sort of neck brace and had something covering most of the left side of his face. _Probably some cybernetics…_

"Councilors…" He began, slowly and obviously in pain, "I feel… I must submit my report… of the events of Eden Prime… immediately…"

"That is not necessary Nihlus, the Alliance has already filed a report." interjected the Turian Councilor.

"Then add mine… as a supplement… Saren attempted to kill me… That can only mean… He has betrayed the Council… and the Spectres…"

"Thank you Nihlus, we have come to that conclusion already. He has had his status stripped."

"Then I must… inform you of my observation… of Shepard… He and his team… have demonstrated above… and beyond what I was expecting… Therefore, Staff Commander John Shepard _and_ Lieutenant Commander Ryan Mitchell, have proven themselves worthy of becoming Spectres."

"WHAT! TWO HUMAN SPECTRES! EXPLAIN YOURSELF NIHLUS!" The Turian Councilor yelled in pure rage.

"Shepard and Mitchell… are two sides of the same coin… if you want one… you need the other… They are a powerful team… and both have demonstrated beyond comprehension… the traits we look for in Spectres…"

* * *

I was in shock over what Nihlus had said… _Me? a Spectre? with John? _

"Well I can see where he is coming from," Kaiden said, "It seemed like you and Shepard knew what the other was going to do next without saying anything. The way you two handled the tactical decisions on the ground was as efficient as I had ever seen."

"Yeah but considering that Nihlus knows about Mitchell's… _duty_ on the Normandy, you'd think he'd be more inclined to give just Shepard the greenlight." Ash replied commenting.

"Well, the Council doesn't have a habit of taking their Spectre's word as absolute truth," Garrus said, "I wouldn't be surprised if they _eventually_ end up agreeing with Nihlus, but it may take some time."

"Time isn't something we have right now," I said, finally able to get a word in. "So if they feel its necessary to make both Shepard and I Spectres so be it. But we _HAVE _ to get on Saren's trail before it goes cold."

"_Agreed Lt. Com. Mitchell…" _I heard coming from my omni-tool. _SHIT! Anderson must have activated his omni-tools speaker!_ "_Would you please come join us in the Council Chamber post haste?_" The voice I recognized was the Asari Councilor.

"Yes ma'am, I will be there as soon as I can be."

"_Also, please come in your prototype armor… We would like to see a small demonstration if you will…"_ _Damnitalltohell!_

"Of course… In that case, where is the nearest airlock to the Chamber?" I ask

"_Two levels below us… Why do you ask?"_

"No reason…"

* * *

"Captain Anderson," The Asari councilor started, "Why would Commander Mitchell ask such a question?"

"I think that will be made known in short order Councilor," he answered with a grin on his face.

"This isn't a time for games Captain!" the Turian councilor yelled.

"It isn't being considered as such, this is Mitchell's way of giving you a demonstration" John replied.

"You mean the armor is rated for vacuum exposure?" the Salarian questioned.

Before John or Anderson could answer another aid had run up to the Coucilors.

"Well it seems that . Mitchell has made it from the dock to the Council Chamber in record time." The Turian councilor commented dryly. "He gave the C-Sec personnel quite the scare."

"Where is he now?" the Salarian asked.

* * *

"I'm right here Councilor," I spoke decloaking next to John and Anderson, giving everyone a pretty good scare. "I apologize for startling your security, but I was following your request to get here as soon as possible."

"It is quite alright, and we also asked for a demonstration, so for you to combine the two is a good thing to see considering what we will be talking about." spoke the Asari councilor.

" Of course, but first I am most interested in what else the armor can do. If you would be so kind to demonstrate that for us Commander Mitchell." added the Turian Councilor.

"Actually, I have a video that was taken right before I was summoned here. I was demonstrating my suit's capabilities to the Normandy's newest crewmembers. Is there anyway I can send the video to your terminals?"

"Yes of course, just link up your omni tool with them… now." Transferring the video that Ash took was a simple matter of thinking about open terminals and then sending the video over. I could see the Salarian's mouth begin to open to question how but the video had already started. As the video went on, the Councilors and Mr. Asshat's mouths continued to drop. At the point where I lifted up Wrex the Turian and Salarian shook their heads while the Asari just sat and watched. John of course laughed at that point and laughed even harder when I beat the pants off Garrus in a foot race.

"Well then, it seems the Alliance has been pretty busy if I do say so myself." The asari councilor spoke.

"Mitchell's suit is the prototype, and there some kinks that need to be ironed out yet." Anderson clarified.

"Of course, as such I believe we the Council have all the evidence we need." She looked over at the other two councilors who nodded their heads. "Commanders Shepard and Mitchell, please step forward. It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

The Salarian Councilor contiuned, "Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol." The Asari Councilor spoke, "The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right-hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

"Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold." The Turian Councilor ended with.

"You are the first human Spectres, Commanders. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species." The Asari Councilor added.

"Mitchell and myself are honored Councilors." John spoke up, _he is the higher ranking one after all._

"Your first assignment is the apprehension of Saren. Remember you are Spectres now, you can utilize any means necessary to do so."

* * *

"Damn! Thanks to you John I am now pretty much set for life!" I exclaimed when we got into the elevator. "I have possibly the most kick ass job in the world, with the best people we can find, and now we can legally pretty much do anything we want!"

John just shook his head, "Yeah that's nice, but I hope we get a lead otherwise all we are going to be doing are random tasks for the Alliance."

"Hey, the Councilors said that we have all the privileges and powers of the Spectres... Does that mean that we can get some better equipment?" I ask.

"Yeah I believe so, why?"

"Cuz I'm pretty sure that in this hunt for Saren we are going to need all the best gear possible... and I'm buying."

* * *

"Ok, so thats 6 complete sets of HMWA X gear: pistol, assault rifle, sniper rifle, and shot gun. The total is 75,000,000 credits." The armorer at the C-Sec armory told me.

"Ok, but how about this... Shepard and myself here are going out on dangerous mission. Our armor, omni-tools, amps, and mods have to be the best there is or we may die. The best equipment though also requires the best technicians. So how about we work out a deal here, you give me a discount on everything I buy today and we'll bring all of our equipment that needs repair or maintenance here to you."

The turian pondered the thought for a bit. "You know, I see guys all the time who buy a gun and when it breaks they buy a new one. So for the opportunity to actually work on the guns I'm selling I'll give you a 15% discount off everything you buy today and 10% on maintenance."

"Great! Glad we could come to terms... Now I need the best armor for a Turian, Quarian, Krogan, and 4 humans, each in the various versions..."

* * *

"Good God Ryan! Haven't you spent enough money yet!" John cried out. After visiting the C-Sec armorer who was the only place we could get Spectre level gear, I figured we'd head to the Alliance Garrison so I could talk to the engineers and mechanics about an idea I had... and it wouldn't be cheap. "The Mako seats a driver, a gunner, a navigator, and two crew comfortably! Why do you need to completely gut it and remake it!"

"For one John, the propulsion system while somewhat useful, wastes a lot of fuel for a very short burst. By replacing the thrusters with newer ones we can achieve the same burst with less fuel. Secondly, the ammo storage is what makes reloading the main canon so slow. By moving the storage to the outside hull, we'll be able to fire more efficiently with the ammo on a central line to the gun. Thirdly, what if we come across a situation where we need to bring EVERYONE on the Mako for a mission? The Mako wasn't built for Turians and Krogans. By using the freed up space, we can put in 3 more seats; 2 of which are built for Turians and Krogans leaving an extra seat for gear or something else."

John just took my explanation in stride, the whole "Makover" was going to cost me about 125 million credits upfront, but the techs had told me I would actually make money from this design if it proved reliable in the field. "There is the matter of hunting down Saren, Ryan. Or did you forget?"

"No I didn't. While you were getting the other supplies, I sent a message to the Salarian and Asari Councilors to see if they had any information on Matriarch Benezia. Apparently she has a daughter, Liara T'Soni, and they are using their positions to find out where she is. Doctor T'Soni is an expert on the Protheans, but was laughed out of academia for her theories."

"Damn Ryan, if I didn't know better I'd say you were more on top of this than I am."

"I'm just doing what I can, the Councilors are trying to find out where exactly T'Soni is, and the technicians and mechanics told me they would have the Mako modifications done in about 8 hours. So hopefully the Councilors will have that info. Then there is the issue of us having a ship, crew..."

"Anderson and Udina are talking about it, and said they would meet us at the Normandy when they figured it out." John interrupted me.

"Right... Now I have something else in mind. I need to find away of modifying my suit with out damaging it..."

"Hang on... I have a friend in Alliance R&D... I think he may have something for us, but we need to use a secure comm channel."

* * *

"Hey Alexi, I have a favor to ask" John said via the Normandy's Comm Room.

"For you Shepard anything..." a deep voice with a strange accent said.

"You know that prototype omni-manufactureer you told me about?"

"Yes..."

"Think you can get it to me?"

"What you ask is impossible my friend! That is my life's work and hasn't been tested!"

"I know Alexi, but I'm sure you've heard of the new armor system that appeared out of no where..."

"Yes I have in fact..."

"The guy who wears it is standing next to me and needs your omni-manufactureer to modify it further..."

The line goes silent for a brief second, then I hear some loud words being spoken in a language I don't recognize and is too distorted for the translator to correct.

"Ok my friend, but when he does modify his suit, please send _me _ the schematics first. You can come pick it up on Elysium" With that the other guy shut off his comm terminal.

"So... what's this guy like John?" I ask, having to know who will be getting the new scans of my suit.

"Well... If anyone in the Alliance think tank can figure out a way to replicate your suit... it's going to be him."

* * *

After all the supplies and the new Mako were loaded on the Normandy, John and myself got a call to head out to the air lock so we could talk with Udina and Anderson.

"Hey John, it may not be a great idea for Udina to be up here."

"Why's that Ryan?"

"If he pisses me off all I have to do is pick him up and throw him past the docks barriers."

"Well, lets hope it won't come to that."

After the decontamination cycle finished we saw the two older men standing and waiting for us at the end of the docking arm.

"Ah Shepard, Mitchell we have good news for you two. The Captain here has agreed to step down giving Shepard command of the Normandy." Udina said as we got close enough.

"She's a good ship, fast and quiet. You both know the crew already as well" Anderson added.

"Are you sure about this Capatain?" I ask.

"Yes, this your fight now you two can't have someone you need to answer to on your ship. This is the only way you two will be able to catch Saren and bring him to justice for the lives he's taken."

"Thank you Captain."

"Now then, just because you two are Spectres doesn't mean that you can do whatever you want! You represent humanity and the Alliance out there. Any messes you make _I'll _have to clean up!" Udina said, _I'm not sure if he's trying to intimidate us here or what._

"We are going to do whatever it takes to bring Saren down!" John fired back, "Or would you rather have him attack the Citadel with a Geth fleet and wipe your ass out of existence because Mitchell and I were busy dealing with political bullshit?"

Udina had no comeback for that, and when he realized it he went straight for the elevator. Anderson just shook his head at us. "You two are unpredictable, you know that?"

"I just don't get a good feeling about him, Captain that's all." I reply.

"True enough, politicians here on the Citadel are a different class of people entirely."

"So what are you going to do now?" John asked.

"Well, for one I'll be hunting for leads for you two. That brings me to my next point, the Councilors sent me the information on Matriarch Benezia's daughter that Mitchell had asked for."

"Great, if we can find her maybe she can help me with the vision or she might know what the Conduit is" I replied excitedly.

"Yes very true. She was reported as working on a dig site in the Artemis Tau Cluster, but no one knows which system or planet. It's as if someone went in and erased all of that information."

"John, I think its time we get going, Saren could have been the one to erase that information; and if he did then that means he might be going after Doctor T'Soni."

"Right! Thanks again Captain, I don't know how we could ever thank you for this." John said as he raced back to the Normandy. I stayed behind for a second to ask a favor of Anderson.

"Captain?"

"Yes Mitchell?"

"I was wondering... Since Chakwas took my blood sample, I'm sure she ran the required DNA scan to check for various things, but I was wondering if you could see if I have any relatives that may know about who I am... or was."

"I have a few friends who may be able to help you, I'll get in contact with them and see what they can find." Anderson replied with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, sir" I replied, after which I turned and ran back to the Normandy where John was waiting for me in the air lock.

* * *

As we left the Citadel, John gave a rather impressive speech about how we have to work together to take Saren down and the threat he represents to everyone in the entire galaxy. I on the other hand after changing out of my Nanosuit, had went down to the cargo bay to get Garrus' reaction to the new Mako.

"Damnit Mitchell! I had the Mako's gun perfectly calibrated before the Alliance guys came in and took it away!" He yelled as soon as I stepped off the elevator.

"Yeah sorry 'bout that Garrus, but this way we'll be able to take everyone along on a mission if needed, not to mention the increased firing rate of the main canon."

"You have a point there... The 3 extra seats may come in handy and I can't imagine Wrex trying to fit himself into a seat made for a human. Well, from what I hear we are heading straight into the thick of it, and calibrating takes some time, so if you want to chat hit me up later."

"Alright, later Garrus." Over in the corner I saw Ashley unpacking the crates of weapons that were delievered.

"Hey Ash, like our new toys?"

"That's an understatement L.C.! If I had just one of these HMWA-AR X's back on Eden Prime I could have fought off the Geth by myself! I can't wait to take this thing apart and see what the Alliance is missing out on. Hahne-Kedar can go screw themselves now in my opinion."

I had no choice but to laugh at that last statement. "Ok, so what about the armor?" I asked

"Again top of the line stuff, even the Quarian armor is impressive. How much did all of this cost?"

"Meh, don't worry about that. We need to have the best and I got it for us."

"Hell L.C. with what you spent on the guns, gear and the Mako you could have recruited, trained, and equipped an entire regiment with just the basics."

"Yeah but who who do more damage with less casualties? That regiment or a small highly trained, well equipped squad?"

"Touche, L.C. I'm gonna get back to getting all of our gear ready. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, but one quick question. I haven't seen Kaiden or Wrex, do you know where they are?"

"Yeah, since you got new biotic amps, the two of them and Shepard went to Chakwas so they could get their old ones switched out. Kaiden was probably the most excited since the new prototype L4 implants will increase his power and get rid of his headaches"

_OK so that just leaves Tali then to talk too._ "Thanks Ash, see you later."

As I went into Engineering, I was able to take in the awesome sight that is the Normandy's drive core. Seeing the waves of dark energy flowing around it was awe inspiring. I had almost forgotten what I came in there for when I heard "Hey Mitchell, what brings you down here?" Tali said breaking my trance.

"I ah... came down here to see how you were doing, but I got distracted by the drive core."

Tali laughed a bit "Yeah I know what you mean. The Normandy's drive core is beautiful to look at. But to answer your original question I'm doing ok so far. Adams and the other engineers are teaching me the layout and schematics of all the Normandy's drive systems, so hopefully by the end of the day I'll know exactly what I'm working with."

"Ok that's good to hear, but I also wanted to ask you about earlier... Why didn't you shoot when I told you too?"

She mumbled something that I couldn't hear but finally came out and said "I guess it's because I was afraid. You are the first person outside of the Flotilla that has shown me anything other than hate and disgust and I didn't want to hurt you."

_Makes sense I guess_ "Well Tali, I need you to trust me from now on ok? John and I are going to need to know you can handle yourself under fire, and I'm probably going to need your help modifying my suit when we pick up the package from Elysium."

"I do trust you Mitchell, I just didn't want to hurt you. And you can count on me to help out when ever I can."

"Thanks Tali, I'm going to go check on John, Kaiden and Wrex and see if Chakwas is done with them yet."

"Ok, see you later"

* * *

After talking with Chakwas I found out that John and Kaiden were still out of it and wouldn't wake up for several hours. Wrex on the other hand had already woken up and was doing some mild biotic exercises (apparently they involved picking up Chakwas and moving her around the room) to test out the new amp.

"Damn Mitchell, you definitely got us some good stuff. The new implant is working much smoother than my old one, granted that it was over 100 years old but nonetheless."

"Glad you like it, and I hope you like the weapons and armor I got as well."

He just nodded "Also very impressive, can't wait to see what a Spectre rated shotgun can do to some ones head." With that Wrex began to head out of the med bay.

"Mitchell, I've been meaning to ask you something." Chakwas piped up having recovered from her biotic ride.

"Yeah doc?"

"When was the last time you ate a well balanced meal or slept?" I was at a loss for words and had no answer, "That's what I thought. Now I want you to go eat this," she handed me a datapad with a list of food on it and a small pill, "and then when you finish that head to your private quarters, take the pill and rest. Even though you are the next ranking officer to Shepard, Pressly is the XO. Now go, doctor's orders"

"Yes ma'am." I replied. Thankfully the Mess Sergeant was working in the kitchen so getting the food on the list was easy. The doctor had given me quite the meal, a lot of fruit, vegetables, and even some meat, or what looked like meat anyways. It did feel good though when I finished. As I made my way to the rest deck I saw that the room that had had John's name on it now had my name on it... _Huh... I wonder if he got the Captain's quarters now..._ I stepped inside the room and found out it was exactly like Kaiden said it was. Small and bare with just the essentials. There was a closet with my extra fatigues and small washroom. The bed seemed like it would be a little small for me, _Oh well I'll make do for now_. I got a small glass of water and took the pill. After turning down the lights to a more ambient setting, I crawled into the bed, my feet immediately sticking out the bottom. _Yeah, gonna have to get a new bed too, at least the mattress is soft. _That was my last thought as I fell asleep naturally.

* * *

**A/N**: OK! Two human Spectres, kick ass weapons off the bat, a new improved Mako, and something called an omni-manufacturer! So much for sticking to canon! The next chapter will cover what the omni-manufacturer is and how it will allow Mitchell to modify the Nanosuit. It will also cover getting Liara and getting more clues in the hunt for Saren!

As I said in the first **A/N**, as soon as the next chapter is posted, the poll for whether or not Benezia should survive Noveria will close. Only 9 have voted so far and this story has 16 people following this story via Alerts along with over 2000 hits in less than a month since being first published! PLEASE VOTE! Go to my profile page and the poll is right there at the top!

Of course as always, please review this chapter! I welcome constructive criticism (I know I screwed up Tali's name in the last chapter, it was intentional to gauge how close you guys are reading!) as well as any ideas. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed on a regular basis (Ghost88, Freeride600, and Blackholelord) knowing you guys are waiting on the next chapter keeps me going!

I hope to keep up a pace of a chapter a week from now on, barring any unforeseen circumstances.


	7. New Ground

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 7

New Ground

* * *

**A/N:** As always, a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I know it wasn't that action packed but it set the framework for this chapter.

The poll, in my eyes, still needs more votes but like I said it is now closed. I won't tell you the results of it though. You'll just have to stay tuned and find out if Benezia will live or die!

There is a new poll now, and I want to know if you guys think I should have the Council live or die. The implications of the poll are unknown, but its up to you the readers to decide! You will have multiple opportunities to vote this time around as well!

Enough ranting, here's what you've been waiting for...

* * *

_Death from some place far away... Enemy's harvesting... Unstoppable... No hope..._

I wake up from the nightmare that is the Prothean beacon's vision ready to kill the first thing I see... then I recognize the blue grey steel that makes up the Normandy's interior.

"Eat and and sleep, doctors orders... Those worked out well..." I muttered to myself. "Well, lets see how long I slept." I check my omni tool to get the time, the familiar blue glow surrounding my arm.

_Wait... I've been out for 12 hours! FFUUCCKK!_

I am out the door faster than a Nanosuit burst and I run to the elevator to head to the mess deck. _Gotta talk to Chakwas, tell her what happened, and find John... PLEASE don't have gone a mission without me!_

Once the elevator opened I bolted to the med bay, and as soon as the door opened the first words out of my mouth were "Doc, where's Shepard at?"

"Relax Mitchell, he's doing his rounds and checking on the other ground team members." She spoke calming me down as I let out an audible sigh.

"Ok, while I was asleep I had a nightmare which I'm pretty sure was the Protean vision I got from the beacon. What did you give me?"

"Just a mild sedative, which given your size should have been just enough to get you to sleep for a few hours."

"Yeah I don't know if it was the pill or the dream but I was asleep for 12 hours."

"Hmm... Let me get some scans to see if we can't find out whats going on in that head of yours."

"Whatever you say doc."

A short scan later, and the doctor was even more puzzled than when she was analyzing my blood sample. So I left her to her devices to figure it out, and saw Kaiden working on a panel by the sleeper pods.

"Hey Kaiden, have you seen Shepard?"

"Yeah, actually you just missed him. He went downstairs to talk to everyone down there."

"Thanks Kaiden. By the way, how's the new implant working for you?"

"Amazing! Even though the L4's are just prototypes I can already see an increase in accuracy and strength of my biotics. Then couple that with no more migraines and I'm as set as I can be. Thanks Mitchell, you are like Shepard but have _a lot _more money than him."

"Well, the way I see it, we are going up against Saren and his geth army by ourselves. We need every advantage we can get. Even if it means creating a better version of my Nanosuit for everyone on the ground team."

"No arguing there, but I'm curious. Aren't you at all interested in how you got here and where your from?"

I had to think about that one for a bit. "Yeah I am, but at the same time I'm not. I asked Captain Anderson to do some checking for me, you know? Yet I started a new life here with you guys. What if when I learn about who I am and I don't like it or who I was? Or what if I left something really important behind? Part of my past has already come through it seems, with my abilities to use the suit and in combat and I'm ok with that. Anything from my past I can use to help the mission will be put to use immediately, but what if I remember something that puts everyone in jeopardy?"

Kaiden thought that bit over before he answered me, "Well the way I see it, just because you'd find out who you were doesn't mean that it would affect who you _are_. Who knows though, maybe you were the exact same as you are now."

"Yeah maybe... Well I gotta go find John and see what our plan of attack is going to be. Later Kaiden."

"See ya Mitchell"

* * *

When I got down to the engineering level I saw John talking with Ash over at the work desk, Garrus was working on the Mako 2.0, and Wrex was leaning on a VERY big container that hadn't been there 12 hours ago. Ash saw me step off the elevator and staring at the container and gave John a nudge.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty! How's it going?" He called out.

"Just peachy! I saw some more of the Prothean vision but nothing that I can use to help us." I replied making my way over. "So what's up with the container?"

"Remember Alexi?"

"Yeah"

"That container houses his life's work, the omni-manufacturer, although I think we should call it an omni-plant."

"OK so how is it supposed to be able to help me modify my armor?"

"Well, the omni-tools we use have micro-factories built into them and using a material called omni-gel, they can make simple machines or parts. The omni-plant here does the same thing except it uses a bigger computer, more refined omni-gel, and works with it on an atomic level rather than a molecular level. In doing so it can create a fully working machine."

"NICE! Sounds like it'll work great with replicating my suit. Lets get it unpacked so I can get to work!" I said excitedly.

"Hold on L.C., we are enroute to the Artemis Tau cluster. As you can see we already stopped at Elysium." Ash said, putting a big dent in my plans to simplify the assembly of my armor.

"There is also the fact that it needs to be tied into the Normandy's power grid, and I rather not do that while traveling in FTL. It also does draw a lot of power; the engineers and Tali have yet to see how much it would effect the power grid." John added.

"Aww... But I had so many ideas!" I whined, half jokingly.

"Ok, how about this? If we manage to find Doctor T'Soni and convince her to join us, and you don't get knocked out which seems to be a habit of yours, I'll take us back to the Citadel." John offered.

"Done. So how far are we from the cluster?" I said without hesitation.

"Hang on..." John brought up his omni-tool, "Joker what's our ETA to the cluster?"

"About 10 hours, asking every half an hour won't make it go by faster Commander." Joker responded.

"Thanks Joker... and I want a status report every 10 minutes." Ash and I had to hold back our laughter until Shepard shut down his omni-tool closing the channel between him and Joker before Joker could respond.

"Nice one John, now you know he'll give you one every 5 minutes." I replied once I got myself under control.

John just shrugged, "Hey, anything to keep him busy. A bored pilot means a bored crew."

Ash perked up at that, "Speaking of which, I had just finished checking out all of our gear before Mitchell showed up, and I believe he owes me a sparring match."

I saw Wrex's head pick up from the corner of my eye, _oh shit..._

"Well... Commander what do you think? I mean we are going to be going on a mission soon and I don't want the Chief here to get hurt right" Ash cut me off before I could finish.

"Bull shit! If I get hurt in a sparring match it'll be because I deserved it!"

"Calm down you too. I'll authorize it, but you'll wear some gear to be on the safe side."

_Goddamnit..._

* * *

A short while later, there was a mat laid out between the Mako and the work desk that was surrounded by the off duty personnel and some on duty ones as well. Every single one of them were placing bets, but I didn't focus on who was favored. Kaiden, Wrex, Garrus, and Tali were watching as well, with John being the referee. Ash stood opposite me in some atheltic shorts and a plain t-shirt. I had found some shorts as well but opted to take my shirt off. I wanted to give Ash as few advantages as possible. Although when I did so, the few women in the crowd started whistling in approval and Ash just gave me a raised eyebrow as if to say _If your trying to distract me, it isn't going to work_.

John then began to lay out the ground rules. "Ok, gloves stay on the entire time. No dirty fighting from either of you. Any kicks must avoid the head. If there is any grappling, no biting or scratches. The fights finished when either of you tap out or are unable to keep going. Any questions?" Both Ash and I shook our heads. John clapped his hands, "Alright, lets have a good clean match you two. Show everyone how its done! Go on my count." He stepped out from between the two of us, as if he was afraid we would hurt him instead. Ash went into what looked like a rather basic fighting pose, her face showing no emotion. At that moment I felt something come alive in my mind, like a part of me thats always been there but I never realized it until now.

_You know how to counter that stance... Use this one..._

I moved my self into the stance it showed me, a crouched stance with a right leading leg a fair distance out from my left leg, but weight still balanced. My open left hand coming close to my face , and my open right hand outstretched at a comfortable distance.

I could tell everyone looked at me and my unusual stance, but I didn't care. That strange part of my mind was in control now.

"Fighters ready? GO!" I heard some one yell. Ash then began to close the distance.

_Hold your ground... You have the advantage..._

Seeing no movement from me, only a cool and calm face, she began to close in for a punch.

_Good... Now block her right outside punch with left arm... Grab arm... Twist upper body into her... Use legs to throw her..._

The entire time the voice was telling me what to do, I did it flawlessly. Ash was falling to the ground before she realized what I did. To her credit she recovered quickly and used her legs and momentum to carry me with her.

_Let go of her arm... roll through the fall... Get back up into the same stance but reverse..._

Time seemed to slow down as the fight continued. When I got back up and in stance, Ash came in with a straight punch.

_Use left arm to parry... Right straight punch to solar plexus... Follow up with left elbow to jaw line... Right knee to stomach... front leg sweep to mat... Grab right arm... twist up and behind back... leave left elbow on her left bicep..._

* * *

Ash never knew what hit her... After getting the air knocked out of her by the solar plexus punch, the jaw hit made her see stars and the knee just made things worse. _What the hell did I get into?_ She asked her self as she suddenly found her self face down on the mat, with her right arm pinned behind her and Mitchell's left elbow on her left bicep. The pain was almost too much for her to think about tapping her left hand, but she managed some how. _Mitchell's eyes... They went so dark, almost dead..._

* * *

_Ok... she's tapped out... let her up... _

I complied with the voice, then all of sudden it disappeared. Where it went, I don't know.

_Ok... That was extremely weird... But atleast this fight is over with..._

I helped Ash up and tried to put a smile on my face, "Hey not bad there Ash, you just can't be that predictable when it comes to fighting."

She searched my face for a second, as if looking for something. _God I hope that's the last time I have to do that again... If Ash suspects something... I don't know how I'd explain it._

Thankfully she smiled too, "Yeah, I guess I was just outclassed by a master it seems. I haven't seen a fighting stance or style except in old vids. Guess Marine CQC needs to reevaluate what it teaches; I was number one in my class and was number one in my unit on Eden Prime."

"Well, no matter what there will always be someone out there who is better than you. That's why you can't stop training."

"Yeah... There's that SpecOps philosopher again..." She said smirking.

"Believe me I don't know where stuff like that comes from. You should probably go see the Doc, just to make sure I didn't do too much damage."

"Yeah, see you later L.C." I didn't notice until now that the spectators were still watching in disbelief at what just happened. When I looked at them they all realized that they should get back to work, everyone left but Garrus, Kaiden, Wrex, Tali, and Shepard stayed behind.

Wrex was the first to say anything, "Impressive Mitchell. Minimal movement, yet quick to unbalance your opponent and neutralize them"

Garrus followed up Wrex's thought "I know a couple Turians who'd like to take you on, just to see what we saw for themselves."

"Well Mitchell, it seems that what ever training you had, it was very thorough." Tali commented.

"Excellent work there Mitchell, I think you and I need to have a little spar ourselves now." John added.

"Well, I think the only way I'd win a fight with you is if I relied on my biotics" was all that Kaiden had to say.

After everyone had given their opinions, they went back to what it was they were doing. _Well, let's go check on Ash_.

* * *

A short elevator ride later and I was walking to the med bay. As soon as I stepped in Chakwas looked up.

"Well Mitchell, if its not you directly being treated by me, its some one effected by you. I hope that trend doesn't keep up."

"Me too doc." I look at Ash, who had a slight bruise forming on her jaw. "How you feeling Ash?"

"Besides a bruised ego and face I'm good. You gotta teach me those moves."

"I'm not sure I'll be able too... They flowed naturally, as if I wasn't in control anymore... Maybe if I remember my past I'll be able too... Right now though I'm not sure I even want to remember who I was..."

Ash gave me a funny look, "Why's that L.C.?"

"The feeling that I had during our little match there... It was unnatural... I don't know if it was a part of my memories coming back or what..." I said lowering my head a bit.

"Well... While we were fighting you didn't have the same look in your eyes like you do now"

I raised my head back up, "What do you mean?"

Ash took a deep breath, "During the match, your eyes went dark... When I look into your eyes now I can see _something_ but I don't know how to describe it. I don't know if that made any sense L.C." Ash was looking a little flustered at this point.

"It kind of does... Thanks Ash. You better get some rest, who knows when or where we're going to find Doctor T'Soni."

"Aye Aye sir"

* * *

After I left Ash in the med bay, a thought crawled into my head... _**The only way to figure out who you are is in your head...**_ _What if I don't like what I find?... __**Remember what Kaiden said, just because it's your past doesn't mean it defines who you are...**_

After arguing with myself for a while, I decided to do some research on amnesia on the extranet. Deciding on going to my quarters proved to be a wise decision; during the search, several adult themed sites popped up, which I promptly ignored questioning the sanity of those who went to them. What I did find was intriguing; most cases of amnesia are caused by significantly traumatic events that the causes the mind to block the memories for, a lack of a better word, fear of the damage. It's usually seen in cases of extreme accidents or battlefield injuries. _So if the mind is limiting factor here, it's quite literally up to the person to remove the mental barrier._

That thought lead me on another search, which pointed to a rare but highly successful practice. The Asari, it seems, are able to join their minds with that of any species and can read their thoughts in a way. There was a study done by the Alliance to see if an Asari could break the mental barriers of some amnesia suffering soldiers. The soldiers themselves had forgotten everything after they had enlisted and were confused at what they were doing in a military hospital. The Asari that volunteered was a well respected psychoanalyst on the Asari homeworld of Thessia, and was eager to help the soldiers. What she didn't know was that the soldiers had participated in a raid on a Batarian slave compound on a planet called Torfan. The Asari, after "melding" with one of the soldiers was able to break down the mental barrier, but the ensuing memories of the slaughter caused both doctor and patient to become unstable as the report put it. _Guess that means that option is out the window_. As I read on though, the Asari's assisstant, rather than give up, proceeded to teach the soldiers a method of meditating that allowed them to selectively choose which memories they wanted to keep, namely forgetting Torfan. _Huh... maybe not all hope is lost then..._

After spending several hours looking up meditating techniques, a voice came over the PA in my room.

"Hey Mitchell," Joker said.

"What's up Joker?"

"Shepard wants you up in the CIC, we are in the Artemis Tau Cluster, but wants your input on how to proceed."

"Roger that, be right up."

* * *

"Mitchell, did you forget something?" John asked as I walked up the galaxy map he was standing at.

"Um... Not that I can think of why?"

"If I was an Admiral decided to do a uniform inspection, you would have been stripped of your Commander stripe and busted all the way back down to Serviceman."

I looked at my attire... _Shit!_ I was still in my shorts and shirtless.

"Uh... Oops?" was all I could muster.

John gave me a stern look... which faded to one of amusement then laughter.

"It's all right, I'm sure the ladies of the ship don't mind the view." he said after he got himself under control.

"Riight... So where are we?" I replied shaking my head.

"Well, as Joker told you we entered the cluster not too long ago, and there are 4 major systems."

"Ok, do any of them have a larger amount of Prothean dig sites than the other?"

"Um... Yeah, there is one that has had more expeditions that the others"

"Ok lets head there then."

"Alright, Joker! Plot a course for the Knossos system!"

"Aye aye Commander. ETA 1 hour to the outer most planet"

"Wait... Don't we have some data on this system we can use?" I asked

"A little... Why?" John replied.

"Well why waste time scanning who knows how many planets when we can possibly narrow it down?"

"Good point. Pressly, what do we know about this system?"

Pressly pulled up some information on a data pad and began to read it outloud for us. "There are 5 planets in system, Archanes is the outer most and is a gas giant. Armeni is the 4th planet, but any excavation has been prohibited by the Citadel. Zakros is the 3rd planet but it's crust is to unstable for any ship to land. Therum is the 2nd planet in system, and has an average size human colony. It is also noted having several Prothean dig sites."

John and I looked at each other and said simultaneously, "JOKER! FULL SPEED TO THERUM!"

"OW! Geez you guys I could hear you up here with out the intercom! Setting course for Therum, ETA is 1 hour 45 minutes."

"Ryan, go get the team ready. Be ready to pull Tali away from the drive core if you have too. I want everyone on this mission." John said, assuming his "Commander" facade.

"Yes Sir... Aren't you glad I upgraded the Mako now?" I replied with a smirk on my face. John just looked at me, then suddenly glowed blue._ OH SHI-_ I found my self lifted up, no longer obeying the laws of gravity. "Really funny John, while your at it think you can propel me down the stairs?"

* * *

"Ow... Note to self... Don't give John ideas for his biotics..." I said aloud to no one in particular. I'll admit the feeling of weightlessness was cool, especially considering that I wasn't in my nanosuit. The fall down the stairs though had been another matter.

"Ha! At least we now know youre as vulnerable to biotics as the next guy!" I heard Kaiden yell over from the same panel he was working on over 14 hours ago.

"Yeah yeah laugh it up. I technically own that implant of yours! I can take it back if I need too!"

Kaiden got real quite "Sorry Commander..."

I had begun walking over to him. When I got within normal conversation distance, I let a smile creep up on my face, "Bah, just jerking your chain Kaiden. Go and get geared up. Shepard is taking everyone for this. Tell the others if you see them."

"Yeah, If I see anyone down in the cargo bay I'll let them know."

"Ok, I'll go check the crew quarters to see if anyone is there."

* * *

After rounding everyone up, and surprisingly they were all in the same location as when I left them earlier, everyone but me was ready to go. Since I didn't get a chance to modify the Nanosuit yet, I still needed Kaiden's help. Thankfully I had the giant container to hide behind while I got the legs of the suit on and attached. After some lewd remarks from Ash about how I was built like a Greek God, and some rather awkward questions from the non humans on the crew, I was finally all set.

"Mitchell, I managed to rig up a pistol harness you can wrap around your thigh for now. That way you can take an assault rifle with you." Ash said as I began to grab just a pistol.

"Thanks Ash. The extra firepower should definitely help."

Before we all piled into the Mako, John decided to make a small speech.

"Ok everyone. This is our first mission together as a squad. We all have our own talents and specialties and styles, but we need to work together to bust up any resistance we may find on the way. Joker and Pressly were able to identify Dr. T'Soni's dig site. Unfortunately its crawling with Geth. So our little recruitment op has become a search and rescue mission. We are going to drop in the Mako about 2 clicks from the dig site where the Geth are thinnest, and force our way in. The dig site is in a remote volcanic region so watch your step and don't worry too much about a missed shot. Any questions?"

_Hmm... I wonder if I can come up with some kind of propulsion pack... That way I could act as an advanced scout for the Mako crew... Guess thats #2 on the mod list..._

John looked around, and seeing no complaints got into the Mako, claiming the driver seat which garnered some groans from Kaiden. "Mitchell, your gunner. Tali, navigator." We all climbed to our respective seats. Shepard was in the front left corner of the Mako, with Tali in the front right corner. I was sitting a little behind them in the middle. Garrus and Wrex took the seats slightly back to my left and right while Ash and Kaiden got into the rearmost seats.

_Another idea... should come up with some kind of secondary gunner position that way the main gunner can focus on the front half... GAH! Too many ideas not enough time!_

After a brief lull while John got the Mako powered up, and before I knew it the suit had integrated with the controls for the main gun!

"Woah... Freaky!" I muttered out loud.

"What?" Everyone asked at the same time.

"The Nanosuit interfaced with the Mako's gun system. I can see what the gun cam sees on my visor and projected flight path of any ordnance I might send down range..."

"Damn Mitchell, anything that suit of yours _can't _do?" Garrus asked.

"Of course... It can't fly... _Yet_"

* * *

After doing some off road driving for a bout a click, I'm pretty sure that not even Tali's navigation can help John's driving.

"Shepard! You better stop the Mako! The Turian is getting bluer by the second!" Wrex called up to John.

"I _**TOLD **_you guys the Commander was a bad driver!" Kaiden added.

"Will you guys keep it down? I'm trying to focus on hitting the Geth armatures that keep popping up out of nowhere!" I say, trying to get them to switch the subject.

"HA! You could probably hit them easier if Shepard wasn't driving!" Wrex replied.

"... No comment there Wrex" _He had a point after all. _The suit interface did increase targeting speed and accuracy, but with John driving over numerous pot holes and using the jump jets liberally, it was getting hard to get a solid lock. "Ok fuck this, I'm going outside to scout ahead for these damn armatures. Garrus take the gunner seat." I said after blowing the last one to pieces.

"Ok Mitchell," Garrus replied.

"Ryan, you sure that this is a good idea?" John asked me over the squad comm system.

"No, but its better than driving blindly into another ambush. Besides, with all the extra heat being given off from the volcanoes, my suit should be able absorb it quicker, effectively letting me run for longer distances faster."

John thought it over, before finally saying. "Alright, but I want a status update every 400 meters. Thats the furthest the Mako's scanners can get a reading."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Unfortunately my brilliant plan was quickly becoming worthless. I was steadily jogging 800 meters in front of the Mako, calling out a couple more locations for Garrus to bombard with the main cannon and giving him targeting assistance, but it was getting old quick.

"You know in hind sight, this plan sucks" I said on the open comm channel

"Yeah but everyone in here is thankful for it," I heard Tali reply, "Garrus' face has returned to its normal color now."

"Yeah yeah... Sprinting ahead another 400m, call when I get there."

I will admit being able to just simply run like this in the suit was fun, even though I was carrying the assault rifle. The path we were following to the dig site suddenly became very hilly and went around a small cliff.

"Uh-oh. Shepard, text-book ambush spot upahead. I'm going to take the high ground to check it out."

"Roger that, we are holding current position." I heard John reply.

The cliff was maybe 30 feet high, _Should be a non issue..._ I focused all the power I could into my legs and made a huge leap. Which unfortunately gave my position away to the 3 heavy turrets about 500 meters ahead of me.

"FUCK! Shepard! I've been spotted by 3 heavy turrets! I'm moving to another spot!" I quickly cloaked and dove under a volley of 3 missles. I didn't hear any response from Shepard so I crawled my way toward the turrets, hoping I could find an advantage point. Scanning the area I found a small path about 200 meters from the ambush corner. "Shepard, I don't know if you can here me, but continue up the path. When you reach a cliff followed by a turn, don't stop keep going and about 200 meters after the turn make a hard right. That should put you in a position to flank some turrets and a gatehouse that are blocking the path. I'll meet up with you there."

Not knowing if they could hear me, I decided to play it as if they couldn't. Granted that I didn't exactly have a canon on me, I did have several disk grenades in the pistol holster Ash made for me.

"Yippe yo kai ay mother fuckers, lets dance" I muttered as I boosted all the way up to the turrets. Apparently the Geth operating them weren't able to get a lock on me as I approached which made my plan that much easier. When I got close to the middle turret I armed a grenade, and jumped at the precise moment it fired at me. The missile though would prove to be far off, as by the time it exploded where I was, I had already threw the armed grenade down the barrel of the turret. After landing, I boosted away and towards the left turret, planning on doing the same thing. That plan went to hell though when I felt a sharp impact on my right side. _FUCK!_ I looked up and saw a Geth with some kind of rifle on the gate houses crosswalk. _Gotta make this fast... That round took off 40% of suit integrity... _Keeping speed mode on, I some how manage to jump up high enough to reach the turret barrel and toss the next grenade in. Just in time as I felt another shot hit me in the thigh. "GODDAMNED ROBOTS!"

I yell pulling the assault rifle to my shoulder and firing a 3 round burst at the metal bastard. I see its shields flicker, but were still engaged. "Oh for fucks sake!" Suddenly the Geth in question is surrounded by a blue aura and is simultaneously lifted and shot to shreds. "What the fuck..." I ask aloud as the gate houses door rolls down revealing the Mako in the center of the plaza with the entire squad surrounded by piles of non-functioning Geth. "I take it you got the message then?"

John looks over at me, "Yeah we did, but what the hell were you thinking taking on 3 heavy turrets by yourself without any back up!"

"I had to proceed on with the assumption that you didn't get the message and would have to do as much as possible to weaken resistance for you."

"Go easy on him Shepard. Mitchell's little stunt did allow us to get into the gate house with out the Geth noticing until it was too late." Wrex offered. "Hell, if I was a hundred years younger I would have done what he did for the fun of it!"

"You got a point there Wrex, and I suppose I can't blame you for our signal not getting through. The Geth were jamming us, but yet your signal came in crystal clear." John said, seeing how it was protocol to make such assumptions when being jammed._ OK, atleast we know its not my fault anymore_. "Ok, EVERYONE back in the Mako, the digsite is a little under 800 meters from here."

* * *

After some more of John's crazy driving, and some amazing gunning from myself, we reached the outskirts of the digsite. Unfortunately the path was blocked by a rockslide that even the Mako couldn't drive over. After all 7 of us piled out of the vehicle, we began to slowly make our way to the site. With my self using cloak mode to check out the lay of the land ahead and scout out any enemies, the others hung back in a loose six point circle.

_Damn I'm glad that its so warm, the suit seems to function a lot better when it has some sort of extra energy to feed off of... I wonder if there is a way to bypass the capacitors so I could have an unlimted amount of energy inputted directly into the suit... There's idea #3 for when we get Dr. T'Soni back on the Normandy._

No sooner than I had finished my thought, I had rounded a small corner on the foot path and found myself in front of a Geth Destroyer and Rocket Trooper...

_Just my fucking luck too... and energy is about to fail..._

Before I could come up with a plan, the cloak ran out of energy, and if the two Geth were able to express any kind of surprise I'm sure they would have. I was fully prepped to dive back behind the corner when they raised their rifles, but instead they began uttering some weird garbling sounds.

"What the... John if you can read me, hold position. My cloak ran out of juice right as I ran into two Geth, but they haven't fired on me yet."

Suddenly, my visor began to display a crap ton of ones and zeros with spaces in between them. Eventually the numbers turned to mixed up letters and the letters became words. When it was finally done it read**:**

**You are not Geth, yet you aren't a servant of Nazara. You wear technology different from every known origin point. What are you?**

"Well I'll be damned... I am a human, and why are you talking to me?" After following the same process, the message read

**Our scanners do not indicate you are human. You have synthetic elements that make up your genetic structure. Your telomeres have also been augmented to reduce aging. Your kind of being has no classification. You are a synthetic organic hybrid.**

"What? No no no that's not possible! Are you telling me that your own personal scanners are more accurate than the most advanced medical scanners in the Alliance? And why aren't you shooting me? I have blown up atleast a couple dozen of you by now!"

**We are prototype platforms, designed to function apart from the Collective. The Geth you have been fighting are not a part of the true Geth Collective. These Heretics have split themselves from us in exchange for a future from Nazara.**

"Wait... so your telling me that the Geth that Saren has under his control are not all the Geth there are? And who the fuck is Nazara!"

Before the message could decrypt itself, I heard two rifle shots and the Destroyer and Rocket Troopers flashlight heads disappear.

"What the flying fuck you guys! I told you to hold position!" I yell back at the squad who had just rounded the corner.

John gave me a death stare, "Stand down Mitchell! The transmission was garbled again, so we assumed the worst and rushed on ahead. What the hell was going on!"

"The Geth Destroyer and Rocket Trooper here didn't fire on me right away, and instead were able to communicate with me."

Now it was Tali's turn to be shocked, "Impossible! The Geth don't communicate with organics!"

"These two did but not directly," I replied, "They emitted a strange noise, then my visor began to display what I assume was binary, which it translated into English. Then they went on about how the Nanosuit isn't from any "origin point" and that according to their scanners that I'm not human; Apparently to them I'm a synthetic-organic hybrid."

"Well those Geth can fuck off for all I care," Ash said, "They obviously haven't seen you without your shirt on."

"Thanks Ash, but they also mentioned that the Geth we are fighting have allied themselves with Saren and something called Nazara are "heretics" and that they aren't "true Geth"".

"No no... That can't be right," Tali muttered, "Geth think as a whole collective mind, if a part of them were able to break themselves off from the main train of thought that means they have evolved past our projections."

"I hate to be the bearer of more bad news Tali, but these two units also said that they were prototype units designed to work beyond the scope of the Collective."

Tali's head, which had been cradled in her hand in deep thought, suddenly perked up. "Commander Shepard! I would like to take these two Geth back aboard the Normandy for study! And before you ask its perfectly harmless, with their head shot off, their memory cores are also wiped. They are lifeless."

John thought about it for a moment "I'm going to assume this is for your Pilgrimage, right?"

Tali responded quickly, "Yes, but it's also so I can find out what kind of technology we may be facing in the future. I don't _have_ to go back to the Flotilla right away when I found a suitable gift."

"Alright. Ash and Kaiden you two help Tali get these things to the Mako and have Joker pick you guys up. Tell him to be ready to pick us up as well." John ordered. "Wrex, Garrus, Mitchell and myself with head on to get the Doctor."

"Aye aye sir," Ash responded, picking up the rocket trooper, leaving Kaiden to deal with the much larger destroyer by himself.

"Thanks Chief," he muttered as he biotically lifted the remains.

"No problem, L.T. Figured you'd enjoy the opportunity to use your new implant." Ash replied, which earned more grumbles from Kaiden.

* * *

Surprisingly the rest of the way to the dig site we met with very little resistance.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this Commander," Garrus said, "Shouldn't we have run into more resistance the closer we got to the dig site?"

_Garrus' has point... Unless..._

"They could have moved underground into the dig and are searching for T'Soni as we speak." I offered.

"I agree with Mitchell, and if that's the case we need to double time it!" John ordered at which he began to sprint towards the dig's entrance. No sooner than we had started our run did a ship fly over head.

"Drop ship!" Wrex shouted.

The ship dropped one helluva big lump of metal, which started to unpack into an even larger armature.

"Damn! It's a Colosuss! No wonder we didn't run into much resistance!" John shouted as we all ran for separate cover

"Yeah no fucking kidding! They were saving everything for their big gun!" I shouted back. "Any ideas how to take it down?"

"I got nothing!" Garrus replied

"Nope! Just keep shooting it!" was Wrex's answer.

"That's your answer for everything isn't it Wrex?" I yell over to him.

"Damn right it is! I'm over a thousand years old! Obviously its worked out great so far!"

"Shepard! Can you get Tali on the comms?" I half yell, half ask.

"No! It must be creating its own jamming field!" He yelled back.

"Well for fucks sake! Next thing I'm buying are jam proof coms because this is getting fucking ridiculous!"

Thankfully since there were four of us in completely separate locations around the Colossus, it had to decide on the biggest threat which ended up being Wrex. The Colossus' main gun began to tear Wrex's cover apart while John, Garrus and I unloaded on it. Even after our barrage it's shields remained intact. Suddenly, I got an idea.

"Garrus! Shepard! How many grenades do you guys have?" I yell out to them.

"3!" "4!" were the respective responses.

"Ok, throw them all to me, I'm going to hit this thing where it hurts!" As they threw their disk grenades, I emptied my holster from Ash, leaving the pistol on the ground and packed it full of the grenades.

"What are you doing?" John yelled at me.

"Something worth getting a video of! Wish me luck!"

"MITCHELL!"

I of course ignore John, I was the only one with the ability to pull off what I was going to do. Thankfully the Colossus was still focused on Wrex who had found a new spot of cover, so I had a clear shot of its backside. Running as fast as I could without speed mode engaged, I ran up to the Colossus' main body, and jumped up. That got its attention, as it tried to swivel its gun turret head around to shoot me. Luckily, I was able to grab its neck. It continued its thrasing in an attempt to get me off, but thanks to the Nanosuits strength mode, I held on like it was nothing. I then climbed up the neck to get to the wires close to the main head/gun. Activating one of the grenades, I tied the holster to one of the many loose cables.

_I suppose now would be a good time to make my grand exit..._ With the improvised bomb counting down, I jumped off from the Colossus, and somehow managed to reach a scaffolding unit hitting it with my chest. No sooner than I had hit the scaffold, I heard the bomb go off. I turn to look back...

… and all that was left was the main body of the Colossus, with the main gun/head and neck no where to be seen.

"I think that may have been a slight over kill" I call out, as I drop down from the scaffold.

"Yeah 10 grenades? Then add in that stunt you pulled it would make for an amazing training video on how _NOT_ to attack a Geth Colossus." John deadpanned.

"Your just jealous that I came up with the idea."

"Me? Jealous? Never... Although Ash will be pissed when she finds out you vaporized that holster she made for you."

_Ah... Goddamnit..._

"Thanks for reminding me Shep."

"No problem. Now who votes we go into the under ground Geth infested Prothean dig site to find a certain blue alien?"

"Well, since you put it _that _way..."

* * *

The walk down the access shaft that led to the Prothean dig was quite, but of course that didn't last long.

"Mitchell, cloak and scout ahead for any sign of movement." John ordered when we reached the door separating the dig from the access shaft.

"You better hope that most of our missions take place on warmer or radioactive planets. I don't want to think about what would happen to the if we had to take a mission on an ice planet." I replied as I cloaked.

"Yeah yeah. You'd still be a wrecking ball though without your armor." he retorted.

John, Wrex and Garrus pressed themselves to the sides of the shaft as the door opened. Thankfully the initial catwalk was clear of enemies. Thanks to the boost in the energy replenishment from the heat of the volcanic activtity, I was able to maintain my cloak long enough to get the initial layout as well as spot some Geth Troopers waiting in ambush.

"Hey guys, I got some Geth waiting to ambush us it looks like. Do you want me to neutralize them now or wait?"

"If you can take them all out at once go for it, other wise we'll move ahead slowly then when they spring it, you fire on them." John answered.

"Ah... Counter ambush? I like it!"

It didn't take the three of them long, and I could hear Wrex's footsteps as plain as day as they moved down the catwalks. Watching the Geth ready themselves was interesting to say the least, they all moved as one and had their rifles pointed at the same spot.

As soon as I saw John's shadow, I radioed to him, "A few more steps and be ready to fall back." He didn't respond and just kept going, as soon as John showed himself the Geth opened up, but not before he could dive back behind the rock formation. I decloaked and began firing on them from their flank, which distracted them long enough for Garrus to throw a tech mine in between them. The remaining Geth all shook violently as the blast fried their systems and eventually they fell to the ground as scrap metal.

"Nice one Garrus... Were you planning on saving those for the other Colossus that was going to show up?" I deadpanned.

"No actually, if your plan didn't work mine was going to be the back up." Garrus replied coolly.

"Well, tell you what. Next time we face a Colossus you can use your tech mines for as long as your heart desires."

"Great! That means I can practice calibrating the various impulse detonations required to take out a Colossus' shields!"

"If you and the Turian are done with your bantering, lets get moving." Wrex bellowed, his deep voice echoing in the cavernous room we were in.

"Yeah, I agree with Wrex. With the way the acoustics are in this cavern, any one in the main chamber and its connecting tunnels heard our little entrance there." John added.

"Ok, I spotted an elevator up ahead next to what looked like a wall of blue water." I supplied.

"Huh, someone must have activated the Prothean barriers." John thought out loud, not to anyone in particular.

"Well lets find out who it was and see if they need a head or two blown off." Wrex grumbled.

As we all piled into the elevator I had a brief thought, "Hey, how much are these elevators rated to lift?"

"Several thousand pounds? Why do you ask?" Garrus commented as the elevator began moving downward.

"I was just a little worried that with Wrex and myelf this lift wouldn- FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUU" was all I got out as the elevator began to drop several hundred feet down. What had seemed like an eternity was over in about 12 seconds as the elevators last and only fail safe kicked in, stopping us from completely crashing into the ground below. I felt my self be lifted through the air and landed rather hard on my chest, causing me to lose my breath.

* * *

**A few minutes earlier...**

_Great job Liara... Whatever key piece of research you hoped to find here apparently got the attention of the Geth, a Krogan Battlemaster, and the Council's best Spectre... I sincerely hope that they do not find away through the Prothean Barrier... Although dieing from dehydration or starvation doesn't sound all that pleasant either... I wonder if anyone would be able to figure out why my body is enclosed in this energy shield... It would most certainly perplex myself to no end..._

"OK Liara, think... You got yourself into this mess and you can get yourself out. Biotics won't work, they can't activate the holo-panel and you can't use them to move myself from this bubble... What other means could you use?...

… Great now I'm talking to myself... I am going mad."

**!**

_Why do I hear gunfire! I am the only one at this dig! Unless the supply shuttle arrived ahead of schedule... No no no... It must be some one to come investigate the Geth..._

"No don't be ridiculous Liara, you are simply imagining thi-"

**!**

"Ok that was _not_ a hallucination! Hello? Is there anyone there? Please I need help!"

* * *

"Ungh... Wrex I'm never riding in an elevator with you again." John mumbled as he pulled himself off of the pile. I apparently was the only one who got launched out of the elevator, while the other 3 ened up in a pile.

"Same here... Whoever funded this dig must have thought that second rate equipment was good enough to handle a Krogan, a Turian, a human, and a walking mountain." Garrus muttered.

"Ungh... Did I hear you right Birdman? Did you just call me fat?" I groaned as I pushed myself up, my hand passing through something that felt like a stream of water. _Nothings showing up on the visor so I must have bruised or busted something..._

"Yeah I more or le- wait what did you call me?" Garrus asked.

"Bird man. You kind of look like a hawk or an eagle, and Hawk man and Eagle man don't have the same ring."

"OK I don't know if I should be insulted or not but damnit Mitchell..." Garrus started but was cutoff by another voice I didn't recognize.

"EXCUSE ME!" a distinctly feminine voice yelled, but not in a scolding way. More like a teacher trying to gain control of rowdy class. I instantly turned to face the voice, and found an Asari floating in what appeared to be some sort of energy bubble, which itself was behind another blue field. I looked down to where I was laying...

_Wait... From what I understand about these barriers they shouldn't allow any solid mass to pass through them... Unless the suit... No... It couldn't possibly... Unless..._

"Are you Doctor T'Soni?" I heard John ask the floating Asari, who after I took a second look seemed to have an air of exasperation and desperation about her.

"Yes I am, now who are you?"

"I'm Commander Shepard, a Spectre. Myself and my partner over there came here to ask you some questions about your mother." John said, pointing to me.

"What about my mother? I haven't talked to her in several years... What has she done?" Dr. T'Soni asked.

"Do you know why she's working with Saren and the Geth" Garrus asked. _Smooth one Birdman, way to traumatize her by revealing to her off the bat that her own mother is a traitor!_

"What Garrus _means_," I interject, trying to hopefully gain the Doctors trust, "is would you like some assistance in getting out of there so we can tell you what we know?" As I'm speaking I can tell she's trying to figure out what I am. "Before you ask ma'am, I'm Commander Ryan Mitchell, a Spectre as well. Shepard and I are partners."

"Ah I see, I thought for a moment there you were a Geth... But two human Spectres? I wasn't aware of this recent development."

"Like I said Dr. T'Soni, we can help get you out and get you to a safe place so we can explain things in a much less stressed environment."

"Of course, unfortunately I have no idea how you can get through the barrier. When the Geth attacked, I activated what I thought was a security protocol, but apparently I hit a button or a command that I wasn't supposed to and now I'm trapped in this bubble."

"Alright everyone, spread out and be on your guard. Look for anything we can use to get over to the Doctor." John ordered.

"Wait a minute John, when I got myself up from the fall, I felt my hand pass through what I thought was water. Yet when I looked where I was, there is no water stream... Only the barrier."

"No thats impossible, no solid matter can pass through a kinetic barrier." Garrus said, picking up on what I was thinking immediately.

"Do you have any other explanations? My suit _is _designed to use _any _outside energy source."

"Well... no... but..." Garrus said realizing my theory was probably right.

"Try it Mitchell, the worst that would happen is that your suit would get scorched." John said, but I'm not sure it had any encouragement behind it.

"Thanks Shepard... Here goes nothing..." I felt John's, Garrus', and Wrex's eyes all divert their attention to my hand, and I noticed Dr. T'Soni looking on in intrigue. As I move my hand closer to the field, I notice an increasing sense of coolness, like mist coming from a running stream. Finally my hand touches the very edge of the barrier.

"Yup, the barrier is what I felt before." I state confidently as I push my hand and arm through the barrier and pull it back out before walking into the room where the Doctor and her bubble were. "Score one for Mitchell, and no side effects are registering."

I heard Garrus mutter something along the lines of "Tali's going to have a field day with this"

"Ok, Dr. T'Soni, how do I deactivate your bubble and the barrier?" I ask ignoring Garrus for now.

She looked at me with a puzzling look for a minute until I cleared my throat, "Right I'm sorry, there should be a larger button that is in the center of the console. Press that and both the field and bubble should deactivate."

"Are you ready? I mean, it might drop you flat on your face."

"I am ready, now please hurry before that Krogan Battlemaster and his Geth come back!"

"I really wish you would have mentioned that earlier," I say as I press the button. I was right on the money, for when I pressed the button, the Doctor was dropped instantly. Luckily she caught her self and was able to stand up, with a little sway though.

"Thank you Commander, and it seems the kinetic barrier was dropped as well."

"Good work Mitchell, now how do we get out of here?" John asked.

"At the back of this room is what I think is an elevator, but the console that activates it is on the platform which is a level below us." She answered.

With out waiting, I run over to the edge and seeing the platform she was talking about, I jump down and find a button that looks like an arrow pointed up with an arrow facing down on the opposite side of a square button. _Huh, guess basic symbols are able cross time and language barriers... I'll have to ask Dr. T'Soni about that..._

I activate the lift bringing it up to others, who except for Dr. T'Soni are waiting with impatient looks on their faces. "You guys need a lift?"

"Smartass…" John mutters shaking his head.

"All aboard for a one way trip out of certain danger and imminent death!" I reply smugly, which gets a chuckle from everyone, even Wrex. "Well Shepard, its looking like you're going to have to keep up your end of the bargain."

"Yeah yeah, you know that since you mentioned it somethings going to go wrong now." He replied.

"Damnit Shep, you have to rain on my parade… Atleast I think we can definitively say that the Protheans definitely designed the elevators on the Citadel, this one is going even slower than those!"

Just a everyone starts to laugh, there is a loud blast that starts to shake the elevator tower. We all look at each other and say at the same time, "Geth" and the elevator at that time stops at the top level showing the catwalks we walked on earlier. Except this time they were full of Geth Troopers and in the middle of them all stood a Krogan wearing what looked like very advanced armor.

"See what you did Mitchell?" John deadpanned.

"Yeah yeah, how do you want to approach this?" I asked.

Before he could answer, the cavern shook even more than before.

"Whatever the Geth did, it must have triggered a sesmic event. These ruins won't remain standing for long." Dr. T'Soni said.

"I count 8 Geth troopers, 2 snipers, and that Krogan may be a Battlemaster." John added.

"He is, and he's mine," Wrex growled.

"Garrus how many tech mines do you have left?" I ask

"2, I could at most take out 5 with both of them." he answered.

"Shit. Dr. T'Soni, do you have any way of protecting yourself?"

"I can surround my self in a biotic barrier that can absorb some damage, but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to maintain it."

"Ok," I said with a plan quickly forming in my head. "Shepard, you take care of the two snipers, Garrus you use your tech mines to take out as many as you can, and Wrex you can have at the Battlemaster. I'll hang back and make sure no one gets through to the Doctor." Everyone nodded their approval, just as the Krogan got to the edge of the tower where the barrier used to be.

"Hand over the Asari humans. Saren always gets what he wants. Or fight... It would be more fun that way." the Krogan stated.

"This cavern is collapsing and you want to fight?" John asked, buying me time to radio Joker to get in position for a rapid evac.

"Makes it that much more exhilarating doesn't it?" The Krogan answered.

Not wasting any time I saw a Carnage shot erupt from Wrex's shotgun and hit the Krogan head on, but his shields absorbed it. John pulled his sniper rifle out to nail the snipers who had stayed back on the catwalk. Instinctively I pushed Dr. T'Soni down on her back and knelt in front of her, just as the non too subtle targeting laser of a Geth sniper rifle settled on her shoulder. My armor took the brunt of the shot, but I suddenly felt my left shoulder scream out in pain.

"DAMN! Guys! Don't get hit by the snipers! They are using some kind of modded ammo!" I yelled out after visually inspecting the armor. Energy and integrity were down 50% from that one shot, yet it some how punched its way through. Garrus apparently had already used his tech mines as I saw 4 Geth lying on the ground without bullet holes, while Garrus was using a fifth as a crude shield, trying to aim and fire using one hand.

"Snipers down!" I heard John yell. Just as a Trooper took a couple pot shots at him. After Wrex's opening shot and Garrus' mines, the Geth had retreated around the edges of the tower to cover. In one fluid motion I had my rifle up, shouldered, and aimed at the trooper that took the pot shots. A full seconds worth of having the trigger depressed and the Geth went down. I then scanned quickly to find Wrex and the Battlemaster fighting with nothing but knifes... No... They were fight with what looked like short swords!

_Well... If that's what a Krogan considers a kinfe I wonder what they consider a sword?_

While continuing my scanning, I counted 2 snipers and 6 troopers down, with 2 troopers and a Battlemaster... **BANG!** I recognize the report of a shotgun and look over seeing Wrex's knife sticking out the chest of the Battlemaster, with the Battlemaster's head gone. Apparently the remaining Geth realized their leader was gone and tried to retreat. John decided against that as he sniped them down.

"How's everyone doing?" He called out as he packed up his sniper rifle.

"I'm good, just a few cuts and scrapes." Garrus answered.

"HA! Not a scratch on my armor." Wrex gloated.

"I am fine as well, but I think we need to get Commander Mitchell here to an infirmary." Dr. T'Soni replied.

"What? I feel fine! Oh..." I begin to argue, but looking down at my shoulder again, I can see blood coming out from where the round penetrated.

"Ryan, how does your arm feel?" John asked. I tried moving it, but got no immediate response. Only after a lot of concentration I was able to make it move, but apparently I screamed in the process.

"Damnit, looks like we can't call you Hercules now can we?" John said.

"I'll be fine, lets get back to the Normandy..." I grunt through gritted teeth. As soon as I finish my sentence, we all stumbled a bit as the tower and cavern began shaking again, but this time it didn't stop. Chunks of the ceiling began to fall down on to the catwalks, not wasting any time we all began to run towards the exit with John leading the way, followed by Garrus, Wrex, Dr. T'Soni, and myself.

_Funny... Why doesn't my arm hurt?..._

We all had to dodge rocks as they attempted to hit us on the head, I saw Wrex get hit on the head with a rather large one, but he somehow shrugged it off. Dr. T'Soni didn't fair too well though. Slowly her and I began to fall behind.

_She must be dehydrated and probably hasn't had anything to eat in who knows how long_.

While running, I looked up and saw several stalactites begin to dislodge, _crap those are big enough to destroy the walkway!_ Seeing that John, Wrex and Garrus had already made it to the exit tunnel, I somehow managed to pick the Doctor up with both my arms, and sprinted the rest of the way out of the tunnel using speed mode, blowing past John who was in the lead. My passenger and I reached the entrance, which we left open on the way in, and found the Normandy in a perfect position for me to keep running and jump into the cargo bay landing on my feet. After carefully setting Doctor T'Soni down in front of the waiting med team, the world promptly began to spin and go fuzzy...

"Goddamnit... This doesn't... count..."

* * *

**A/N: **So once again Mitchell blacks out. Will he get more of the Prothean vision? Or will his past start to reveal itself? And what of Dr. T'Soni? What will her reaction be to the Nano-suit or more appropriately Mitchell?

You'll just have to wait to find out! The next chapter won't be posted for some time for the following reasons:

Crysis 2 is coming out tomorrow!

With Crysis 2 coming out, that means new potential plot points and upgrades could be in play, so I need time to play through the game enough times to commit them to memory.

With the new critical points memorized, I can then evaluate how they will effect ME:TUH now and down the line when I get to writing the ME:TUH II and this fic's equivalent of ME:Redemption.

As always, any and all reviews are welcome!


	8. Heavenly Burden

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 8: Heavenly Burden

* * *

**A/N:** OK guys, first off, sorry for the delay. With school, work, Crysis 2, Arrival, and some _interesting_ reviews and PM's all on my plate, I've had to rework my outline and writing process immensely. As such, with this chapter posted I will be updating and revising the first 7 chapters. I hope by doing this that I will enhance your enjoyment of the story and bring in more readers.

Secondly, HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! After the last chapter I posted on March 20th, the story had just over 3000 hits, now its over 6000! Thanks for the attention guys!

Also a huge thanks to all those who have reviewed, favorited, and alerted the story as well! Your enthusiasm for this story I pulled out of nowhere keeps me going..

Some of you wanted a review for Crysis 2 from me, which will be at the end of the story. Arrival in my opinion doesn't need a review since its a critical component leading into ME3. So just spend the 7ish dollars, download it, install it and have fun!

Finally, with me changing up my writing style, its going to take me more time to get a chapter written/revised. That being said I won't be able to go by chapter a week deadlines anymore.

Enough of my rambling, the story must go on! BEWARE OF SPOILERS! (per se)

* * *

**Cargo Bay**

**Normandy SR-1**

Leaving the now erupting volcano of Dr. T'Soni's dig site behind them, the entire ground crew came to Mitchell's side when he fell over. John, Wrex, and Garrus immediately picked up the mountain of a man and rushed to get him up to the Med Bay.

"What the hell happened!" Ash screamed out, seeing the blood running freely from Mitchell's left shoulder. She had just finished getting her gear put away when Joker hastily brought the Normandy's Cargo Bay door in line with the dig site entrance.

"NOT NOW ASH! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" John yelled at her since she was blocking the way to the elevator. Stunned by John's order, Ash could only look to the blue alien that Mitchell had set down before he fell over. The Asari in question was in shock as well, but that didn't stop Ashley from stomping over to her.

"Hey! Ms. Prothean Expert! What happened down there?" Ashley's face looked like it was ready to explode. When several silent moments went by, Ashley turned around to go up the elevator to the Med Bay.

Finally, "I'm sorry... Your comrade was hit protecting me from a Geth Sniper. He also saved me from a large piece of debris that would have crushed me when we were making our exit." Liara said meekly. _Damnit Liara if you wouldn't have been so slow to react perhaps he would have__ been uninjured! _She thought to her self

Ashley stopped just short of pressing the up button... "Damnit... That sounds like what L.C. would do... Come on Ms. Prothean Expert. Lets go check on the big man shall we?"

Liara, who had been looking intently at the spot where her savior had been a few moments ago, finally looked up. "Um... sure... I would like that."

* * *

**Med Bay**

**Normandy SR-1**

Chakwas was used to having to have all of her equipment ready for any injuries the ground team may come upon while on a mission, but when it came to Mitchell each time the man had visited her she grew more and more confused. It was no different this time when Shepard, Wrex, and Garrus came barging in with Mitchell who had what appeared to be a severe shoulder injury based on the amount of blood that was present.

"Get him on the first table! And get his helmet and chest piece off!" She ordered as soon as she realized she may need to operate. "What happened down there Commander?"

John, who was relatively unharmed (minor cuts and bruises from debris) had to pause while getting the front chest piece of the armor off. "Took a sniper round to his shoulder. Mentioned something about modified ammo and it actually hit him and not the armor."

"Ok, thank you Commander, now if the three of you would leave I need to get to work!" She shooed the 3 grunts out of _her_ med bay. "Now then Mitchell, lets get some more blood work and scans in and see what could have caused this..."

* * *

_**Flash back**_

_**Mst. Sgt. Ryan S. Mitchell**_

_**2022**_

_**Hargreave-Rasch Building**_

_**New York**_

_A secretary walks into a highly ornate office that also was at one point a library. Scattered around it were various archeological pieces of some kind of prehistoric marine animal. At the back of the office was a large desk, but it's dwarfed by the giant display that was on the wall behind and above it. The display showed a man sitting at that very same desk, perhaps at another location._

_"Mr. Hargreave?" The secretary spoke. The man on the display perked up, as if he was lost in thought. He looked very old, but his eyes told anyone that looked into them that they had seen much. Yet they still had a fire burning behind them._

_"Yes? What is it?" The man, Jacob Hargreave responded._

_"The Master Sergeant is here." She stated matter of factly. She knew Hargreave liked things concise._

_"Send him in... And please be sure to divert any unnecessary distractions away..." Hargreave said. __**I hope that Mitch**__**ell here is up for this task... Thanks to Prophet I now know how to fully **__**eradicate**__** the Ceph... But I need to be sure it'll work...**_

_As soon as Hargreave finished his thought, in stepped a literal mountain of a man. It wasn't Mitchell's strength that initially attracted Hargreave, but rather his mind. While Mitchell had broken nearly every single record the Air Force could offer for a non-pilot while climbing the ranks, it was his skills that he demonstrated during his Special Forces training. Then coupled with his admission for training for Raptor Team, and the clean up of Ling Shan truly demonstrated that he was willing to risk himself instead of his fellow man in any situation. _

_**In short... He is the perfect soldier... Lethal, **__**efficient**__**, adaptable, and self sacrificing.**__**.. Which is why **__**I**__** need him...**_

_"Mr. Hargreave, Master Sergeant Ryan Mitchell... JSOC said that you specifically requested my presence."Mitchell introduced himself to the man who had single handedly changed the face of infantry combat for generations._

_"Yes Mitchell... I am aware that during your training for Raptor Team that you suffered a rather severe injury..."Hargreave knew that Mitchell would want to get straight to the point, but he had to be sure of Mitchell's feelings for the nanosuit program._

_The ACL tear was still fresh in Mitchell's mind. "Yes... Because of it I wasn't able to complete the training and by the time I was healed Raptor, Eagle, and Hawk teams had already been filled."_

_"Yes, and they all proved themselves at Ling Shan, but so did you if I recall correctly. You managed to take down a Hunter all by yourself with just a SCAR and some grenades."_

_"It wasn't easy, but I had to hold the damn thing off so the rest of my squad could get back to safety and I was the only one uninjured."_

_"How much easier do you think it would have been for you to take down that Hunter if you had a nanosuit?"_

_"Infinitely sir. I had several close calls where I thought I wouldn't make it." __**I had **__**t**__**o**__**... 20 lives depended on me... I couldn't let them down...**_

_"Good, good..." Hargreave had to pause for a second to think, "Son, if I told you I wanted you to become the test pilot for the nanosuit 2.0 prototype, the 1.5, would you agree?"_

_"What does JSOC have to say about this?"_

_"They are completely onboard. The data that Nomad __and Prophet got us warranted a new version of the suit. One that should help us repel the Ceph even more effectively than Miss Rosenthals hacking trick."__That wasn't entirely true. With the nanosuit program out of the black budget area of the Pentagon, most of__ the military brass wanted to employ the Nanosuit on widescale._

_"How so sir?"_

_"Not going into details, but in laymens terms by reverse engineering their tech and DNA we should effectively turn the nanosuit into a bioweapon... One that can only be used against the Ceph."_

_"What's the catch sir?" __**Something is up, there was no way that Hargreave could have already found **__**a large scale weapon to use against the Ceph in **__**the span of 2 years!**_

_"The data that we got isn't quite complete... I need you to take the prototype suit back to Ling Shan Island and re-infiltrate the Hive ship."_

_"With all due respect sir, that's bat shit insane! It took the entire US military over 2 months to finally push the Ceph back inside the energy sphere! We are barely holding them there as it is!" Since the nuclear strike against the Ceph, the entire nation's military had mobilized to contain and neutralize the threat. Thanks to Doctor Helena Rosenthal's overload program being broadcasted on a massive scale, it was fairly easy to take down the hundreds of Scouts that came pouring out. It seemed that while VTOL's were vulnerable to the flying alien gunships/troop carriers, the Air Force's F-45 hyper sonic fighters cut through them like hot knifes through butter._

"_You wouldn't be going alone... Prophet, Marjor Barnes, will be accompanying you in, since he and Nomad are the only ones that know the layout of the Hive ship." It was well known that before the nuclear strike, that Prophet had gone AWOL back to the island and was later rejoined by Nomad, Psycho, and Rosenthal._

"_What about Nomad and Psycho?"_

"_Nomad is currently training the next 3 nanosuit 1.0 teams in tactics to deal with the Ceph, and Psycho is currently getting the SAS up to speed on the threat. Make no mistake son... You would become the mythological Atlas; the weight of the heavens yours to carry for all of humanity."_

_Mitchell looked down at __the ornate desk in front of him which l__ooked like it hadn't been used in decades... __**Fitting...**__ He thought to himself._

"_When do I start?"_

* * *

**Several hours later**

**Med Bay**

**Normandy SR-1**

John walked briskly into the Medbay, and found Dr. T'soni sitting at Mitchell's side with her head resting on his chest asleep. _Huh... They __**would**__ make a cute couple... She probably feels bad about him getting injured saving her blue behind... _Chakwas looked up at the Commander when he walked in, "Ah, Commander. I'm glad you came down here as soon as you did." She greeted him warmly

"What is it Doc?"

"Well, the thing is that I didn't do anything except monitor and sedate Mitchell to keep him comfortable. He healed by himself." She stated, with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "But what I did find was the reason he collapsed and how the bullet made it past the armor."

"Ok this I gotta hear, what did you find?"

"I'm sure you've heard of mercs and pirates modifying their ammunition in radical ways such as adding polonium to the blocks to give the target radiation poisoning. The Geth have gone a level beyond that, they somehow have introduced some kind of phasic jacketing to an armor-piercing round laced with element zero."

"So basically they combined three different ammo mods together?"

"In short yes, and since the human body has no tolerance to element zero, Mitchell collapsed. Fortunately, the n-cells in his system were able to not only heal the wound but cleaned up the residual eezo in his system. Also, his brain is showing strange activity again."

"Like after the beacon?"

"Not entirely... The activity is in a different area this time, in the long term memory section of the brain. In previous scans I had seen very little activity, as if it was dormant. Now I'm seeing a 30% increase in the synapses of that area. Before the mission after he had slept for 12 hours he came down here and I took another scan. Comparing the three together we can see that his brain is reactivating his long term memory."

"Well, hopefully it doesn't cause to much emotional damage... We need him and that Prothean Vision he has... How is Doctor T'Soni doing?"

"She'll be fine, some food and water and a little rest, which she seems to finally be getting now, and she'll be perfectly fine. Although I'm not sure about her immediate future if any of the female members of the crew see this..."

John had to let out a laugh "Yeah, Ash I'm sure will be ok about it. After all she did leave Dr. T'soni here without causing any physical damage. Ash thinks of Ryan here more like a big brother than anything..."

"Good point Commander, besides its best NOT to get involved in that aspect of someone's personal life."

"Let me know when my partner here wakes up, ok Doc?"

"Aye-aye Commander"

* * *

**1 hour later**

**Med Bay**

**Normandy SR-1**

_Well… why do I remember everything from training for Raptor up until I get the Nanosuit but why nothing about my personal life? Oh well… Judging by that beeping I guess I'm in the med bay again… But who could be sleeping on my chest? I hope I don't wake who ever it is up…_

"Ungh… Hey Doc…" I mutter, "Whats going on? Did I get into a bar fight again?" _Might as well keep the mood light, I don't know how bad my injury was._ "And who do I have the pleasure of being a pillow for?" At this point I decided not to move, to try not to disturb who ever it was.

"Always the comedian Mitchell… You are lucky considering the kind of round you were hit with." Chakwas said, trying to hide a smile.

"Yeah, I was curious what kind of round that damned sniper used. Before you answer that, I don't want to wake up whoever my guest is, can you help me out?"

Chakwas just gave me a bemused smile, and just stood there. "Your n-cells managed to heal you, but the reason your suit wasn't able to stop the bullet is because the bullet was incased in a phasic jacketed armor piercing round laced with element zero."

_Damnit Chakwas…_ "So your saying that the bullet was originally designed to not only penetrate tactical shields, but punch through the hardsuit AND poison the target? Talk about redundancy…"

"Actually modifying rounds with one specific quality is not uncommon, but to see something like this is unheard of. If it weren't for your n-cells, you would have had eezo poisoning in addition to severe damage to your shoulder. Enough that you most likely would have required some cybernetic replacements."

"Damn… If you were trying to put the fear of god in me so I don't get hurt on the next mission you succeeded." I reply by putting some shake in my voice. Chakwas just shook her head at me. "So who do I have the pleasure of being a pillow for?"

"Dr. T'soni, she wanted to be here when you woke up but it seems that she fell asleep on you."

"Well I don't mind, but I probably should talk to John ASAP about the mission. Can you help me now?" I pleaded. Chakwas helps by gently lifting Dr. T'Soni's shoulders so I could move out from under her. "Thanks Doc, did she get a room assignment yet?"

"Yeah, she's actually in the Commander's old room since he got the Captain's quarters." Chakwas replied.

"Ok, I'll carry her on up then."

"Well, its good to see that chivalry isn't dead yet. I'll let Shepard know you taking the Doctor up to her quarters and he'll meet you there."

"Thanks Doc, I'll see you later, but hopefully not sooner than necessary"

* * *

**Some time earlier**

**Med Bay**

**Normandy SR-1**

After being introduced to Gunnery Chief Williams, albeit somewhat harshly, Liara immediately went to the Med Bay with the Chief. She had heard about how fast humanity was progressing, but the technology of Commander Mitchell's armor astounded her. He was able to move faster than a salarian on a stim rush and not to mention being able to directly bypass the Prothean energy barrier. Yet she hadn't seen his face, he was an enigma to her.

However when her and Chief Williams reached the med bay, Commander Shepard along with the Krogan and Turian, whose names she hadn't yet learned, were exiting it.

"Ash, I'm sorry about earlier… You know how important Mitchell is." Shepard apologized to the Chief.

"I understand Sir. How is L.C.?"

"Don't know, Chakwas has to run some tests. Who knows what the Geth have done with their ammo mods. If they were able to penetrate his armor, we may need to call in some markers for some better shields and armor."

"No doubt Shepard, we can't risk something like what happened to Mitchell every time we encounter the Geth." The Turian added.

"Ack! My apologies Dr. T'Soni, I should introduce you to the rest of the team." Shepard stumbled, _Mom would kill me for not being a good Captain and making the new crew member feel at home_. "I'm Staff Commander John Shepard. That is Garrus Vakarian, Urdnot Wrex, and it seems you already met Gunnery Chief Williams. Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko and Tali'Zorah nar Rayya are probably down in Engineering." Shepard motioned to each crew member as he spoke their names. Garrus gave a polite nod, and Wrex just gave a grunt and moved towards the elevator.

"Thank you Commander Shepard, but how is Commander Mitchell?" Liara asked.

Chakwas chose that moment to step out of the medbay, and everyone instantly turned around and were all staring at her expectantly.

"Before ANY of you ask, he'll make a full recovery. Thanks of course to his suit." _I have to be careful, the non-humans of the crew have yet to be debriefed about Mitchell's origin… From the Normandy's stand point atleast._ Chakwas thought

"There has to be more to than a few minutes than that! He lost a fair amount of blood and who knows about the trauma he received." Garrus started to protest before Shepard could intervene.

"Mitchell and I will debrief all of you about his capabilities when he recovers." He stated.

With everyone turning to leave and go about their separate duties, Liara stayed behind.

"Doctor, would it be alright for me to stay in the med bay until Mitchell wakes up?" She asked.

"I don't see why not, while you wait I can give you the standard check up as well."

After going through some routine exams, and being told to get something to eat and drink Liara found herself falling asleep as she sat waiting for Mitchell to wake up. Before she knew it she felt herself being lifted up and carried by someone. She was too comfortable to wake up and see who was carrying her. _Whoever it is has a very strong heartbeat…_

* * *

**Present Time**

**Crew Quarters Deck**

**Normandy SR-1**

As I carried Dr. T'Soni up to her new quarters, she stirred only a few times. Mostly to adjust her head against my shoulder. She muttered something about wanting to not go to school when I got to her door. Suddenly John, showed up and quickly got the door open. Her room was exactly like mine, just flipped over. I slowly inched my way in, as soon as I set the Doctor down though she woke up.

"Uh… Hi." _Talk about awkward… I don't have a shirt on, I'm leaning over her, and now I'm staring at her blue eyes…PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!_

"Um… Hello… It looks like you have recovered Commander Mitchell." She replied after looking me up and down. _Is she blushing?_

"If you two are done with your re-introduction, I think it's time we have our full team debrief." John butted in, saving me more awkward time with the Doctor.

_Well then… This should be an interesting debrief…_

* * *

**A/N:**

OK, I will probably keep chapters about this length from now on, so I should hopefully be able to get the chapters out more often. Like I said earlier, since I posted this chapter I will be going back and rewriting/improving earlier chapters. So be prepared to go back and doing some rereading!

If this doesn't meet up to your expectations for more details let me know via review or pm!

Don't forget about the review on my profile! Let me know if the Council should survive, die or another option I came up with. There is a one vote difference between the leaders so please vote!

And now for the Crysis 2 review:

I should say first that I play it on my PC and am able to play it at max settings with out any lag. Overall the game is amazing. Starting off with the story, there is a huge WTF! moment in the first 5ish minutes and it improves from there. While in game is very objective based (you have ONE objective that you MUST accomplish to advance the plot) you are given several options for achieving the objectives. The story despite its lineararity (ik that's not a word, give me a break) is still quite good. By using the visor you are given specific tactical options and paths you can use to either out gun and position the enemy or if you like stealth tactics there are several opportunities to use that as well. While it does relieve the straightforwardness of the game, it only goes so far. Its exactly like Crysis and Warhead in that respect. There are plenty of guns available to choose from so no worries there. Of course the graphics are top notch, which was too be expected. Unfortunately due to my internet connection I can't play the multiplayer so you guys will have to find out for yourselves.

On a scale of 10, I'd give Crysis 2 a solid 9.0/10


	9. First Time for Everything

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 9: First Time For Everything

* * *

**A/N:**

-OK guys before you start throwing what ever is within your reach at me for not updating sooner I can explain!

- Chapter one has bee redone! I will be going back and redoing the other chapters in a similar manner, correcting mistakes, adding information, etc etc, and posting new ones on rotating basis.

-If you haven't yet, please vote on the poll on my profile! I want to know if you guys think John and Mitchell should save the Council. There is only a 5 vote difference between the leaders! Make sure your voice is heard!

* * *

**Crew Deck**

**Normandy SR-1**

Thankfully when John told me and Dr. T'Soni to get up to the comm room, it gave me a good excuse to go to my quarters so I could change out of the lower section of my armor and into more appropriate attire._ I'll have to apologize for not waking her up right away after the debrief._

After I had exited Dr. T'Soni's quarters, I gave John a heads up. "Hey John, I'll be right up. I'm going to change into my uniform quick. I don't want you propelling me back down the stairs again."

"Damn... That was good practice! Alright, just hurry up. Your the one with the Prothean Beacon burned into his head." Dr. T'Soni had just stepped out of her quarters when John finished. "Dr. T'Soni, if you'll follow me I'll show you the way to the comm room."

"Of course, thank you Commander Shepard." she replied.

* * *

**Comm Room**

**Normandy SR-1**

By the time I had gotten changed and up the stairs and into the comm room every one was already seated. Tali, Ash, and Kaiden were on the left hand side while Dr. T'Soni, Garrus, and Wrex were on the right. John was leaning against the comm console with his arms crossed.

"Well, now that everyone is here let's get started." John said. I decided, rather than take a seat and uneven the seating arrangement I decided to lean against the console with John. Dr. T'Soni also happened to be right next to the end that John left open. When I leaned back, I looked over to Dr. T'Soni, Garrus, and Wrex and gave them all a brief nod. Garrus and Wrex nodded in return, whereas Dr. T'Soni smiled and averted her eyes away from me. _Huh... I hope earlier wasn't that awkward for her..._

John had shifted a little bit from the console and turned to me. "Well Ryan, where should we begin? I got all the introductions taken care of." John had asked.

"Well, why not start at the beginning? With me?" I responded.

"You sure you want to do that now?" John asked with a raised eyebrow

"Might as well." I said shrugging my shoulders.

"Alright..." John sighed. He pulled out a small device and set it on the console and activated it. "OK everyone, what you are about to hear is classified Code 5 in Alliance Military Intelligence. I have just activated a bug scrambler to be sure that no one who shouldn't hear this does." John's little statement caused everyone to react in someway: Kaiden and Ash's eyes went wide with shock; Tali's eyes were hard to tell with her visor in the way; Garrus's mandibles seemed to fall off, while Dr. T'Soni seemed to suddenly snap to attention; Wrex was the only one who looked disinterested though.

John let everyone grasp the gravity of the situation before he continued. _Damn... Didn't think I was worth this much to the Alliance..._ "As you all know, Lieutenant Commander Ryan Mitchell here is in possession of a very unique armor system. What you don't know is that we came across him shortly after the Normandy left its space dock floating in space between Jupiter and Sol's asteroid belt."

Before John could continue Garrus interrupted, "What, was he rescued from an escape pod?"

"Not quite Garrus, now if everyone would let me finish before you ask any questions... We were en route to the Charon relay when Joker got a massive burst of radiation. Microwave, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and even some Tachyon radiation waves were mixed in. When it dissipated, there was a single life sign. Kaiden and myself went to investigate and we found Ryan here in his armor barely alive. We brought him on board and were able to get him out the armor. When we did, he was wearing dog tags that indicated that he was born in the year 1990 and was a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force. Unfortunately we have yet to find any historical trace of him, and Ryan here has lost all memory prior to being woken up in the Med bay." John paused for effect here, giving everyone a chance to let all the information sink in before he continued.

"While the Normandy was on it's way to Eden Prime, we were able to get him somewhat up to speed on current events as well as get him a translator implant. At that point, Ryan was able to reactivate his armor so we could get preliminary data on how it worked. By the time we arrived at Eden Prime, he had demonstrated beyond a doubt that he was mission capable. As Kaiden, Ash, Ryan, and myself remember, once we had pushed the Geth back, we were able to recover the Prothean Beacon that Saren was after. In a freak accident, Ryan interfaced with the beacon, getting a vision of sorts after which the beacon overloaded and blew up. When we got Ryan back onto the Normandy, we were able to determine roughly how the suit functions." At that, John activated his omni-tool, which in turn brought up an image of what I could only assume to be a Nanocell on the screen behind behind me.

"The Nanosuit, as we are calling it, releases these synthetic Nanocells that harness the natural energy produced by the body as well as the surrounding environment and feed it into micro capacitors throughout the suit which it self is a bio-synthetic material that gives its wearer enhanced speed, strength, endurance, and the ability to cloak. The Nanocells themselves are also able to repair the suit, heal Ryan of any injuries he might incur, and lets him interface with any technology he touches directly via neural input."

As John went over the rough details of the suit and myself, I was watching everyone's reactions and I swear if Tali could have she would have started examining the suit and myself right away. Wrex looked like he was interested when John mentioned the enhanced speed and strength, but lost it after that. Garrus was a little harder to read, since Turian's have few facial features beyond their mandibles, although his were no longer hanging down. Dr. T'Soni on the other hand was looking at me the entire time, as if I was some sort of puzzle to be solved. Kaiden and Ash were the only ones who knew mostly everything before hand, and didn't have much of a reaction.

"Alright so before we continue with this debrief, does any one have any questions pertaining specifically to Ryan here?" John finished up.

Tali of course was the first to speak up, "Yes! I do! I would like to be able to examine the Nanosuit and Nanocells in depth if at all possible! If my idea is correct, then the Nanocells could be reprogrammed to serve as an artificial immune system for my people!"

Figuring John had the spot light long enough I answered, "Of course Tali. Dr. Chakwas has a number of blood samples from me that contain a fair percentage of Nanocells. Once you get an understanding of the technology I'd like your help in modifying the armor with some shield tech and some other ideas I've come up with." Not letting anyone else get a word in I pushed on. "As we all saw on Therum, I am far from invincible. While I can heal rather quickly, if I get a serious enough wound I will be effectively neutralized until the Nanocells in my body get a chance to heal me."

Garrus was next to ask, "So whats the extent of your ability to interface with tech? Could you hack a Geth for example?"

"Honestly Garrus, I do not know. All I know I can do right now is basic stuff like this," I mentally activated my omni-tool, which cast my left arm in its blue glow.

"Ok, so you were able to change the..." Garrus started to say, but as soon as he opened his mouth I focused on changing the display from its current blue to red, and then back again. I kept switching it back forth until the glow became purple before shutting it off. "...Never mind..." Garrus remarked.

Surprisingly Wrex spoke up, "So if you armor enhances your current abilities, do you know what your limits were before you got the suit? Also, if you ever figure out a way, I'd like to get a version of that suit that would fit me. At the very least an injection of those Nanocells"

I had to think about how to answer Wrex's question for a bit, eventually I said, "Honestly, I don't know what my current physical limitations are Wrex. While I was knocked out from that bullet wound, I had a dream of sorts that I think was one of my memories. It didn't tell me much, but it gave me an idea. As far as getting you a suit that would fit you... We'll see, I'm sure everyone here is interested in getting one, but we don't know if the technology can even be duplicated or for that manner compatible with alien DNA"

Everyone looked at me like I was crazy but then looked to John, "Alright so no more questions, let's get down to buisness. Dr. T'Soni, could you tell us why your mother might be working with Saren?" _Damn John... Way to ease her into questioning..._

"Unfortunately I do not. Benezia and I have not spoken for several years. We parted on bad terms as you humans would say."

"Ok then, do you know why Saren would send Geth after you? Do you know anything about the Conduit?" John continued.

"No, my field of focus is the extinction of the Protheans. I have never found any evidence pertaining to a Conduit." Dr. T'Soni shifted a little uncomfortably in her seat.

I had to ask the obvious question before John continued, "What did you find?"

She seemed to smile when I asked, "Well, its hard to say really. The Protheans created so much, but 50,000 years ago they suddenly vanished and left little to no traces of themselves behind. However I did manage to find evidence of cultures that predated the Protheans. After 50 years worth of research, I think that the galaxy follows a cycle. One civilization rises up on the ashes of the one before it, only to be cast down in their prime by some unknown entity."

"Wait... how old are you?" Ash butted in, almost rudely.

"I must admit I'm only 106, and its for that reason that my theories don't get the credit they deserve." Dr. T'Soni answered, almost as if she was ashamed.

"Damn... I hope I look that good when I get that old."

"Well Ash, if you think about it I'm technically 193 years old, and as you put it, I'm built like a Greek God. I'd also bet you 500 credits that Wrex is older than the rest of us put together and he just looks like a bad ass." I said, putting things into perspective for Ash. "Anyway, I digress back to what Dr. T'Soni said earlier; I'm pretty sure that I know who wiped out the Protheans. The Reapers." I answered.

"I don't know anything about Reapers, but I have an idea. Commander Shepard said that you received a vision from the beacon? If you would permit me, I can join our minds together in an effort to clarify the vision." Dr. T'Soni offered, and when I looked into her eyes I swear I saw something flash when she finished.

I looked over at John, who simply nodded. I saw Ash raise an eyebrow while glaring at Dr. T'Soni and Kaiden had the biggest smirk imaginable on his face.

"Alright... What do you need me to do?" I asked as I stood up and faced her.

"Just relax Commander, focus your thoughts on the vision..." As she spoke, she stood up and got closer to me. I couldn't help but look into her blue eyes, like my vision was drawn there. "... Embrace Eternity!"

* * *

**Inner recesses of Mitchell's mind**

As soon as Dr. T'Soni said "Embrace Eternity", I saw her eyes turn as black as night. Then it felt as if my mind was being pulled somewhere deeper. The next thing I knew, I was standing in a dark room by myself.

_**Relax Commander... Allow your mind to wander...**_Wait a second...

_Well this is new... I'm assuming that's you Dr. T'Soni..._

_**Yes it is... You don't have to be so proper, after all you did save my life...**_

_Ok Do-... Liara..._ I swear I could have heard a small giggle.

_**I have to admit... Your mind is quite intriguing... Even though this is my first meld, from what I heard from other Asari, a meld is not normally like this...**_

_It may have something to do with the Nanocells... I hate to be rude with this being your first meld, and I understand that Asari don't take melds lightly, but lets get going._

_**Yes of course... Can you focus on the vision?**_

_I have been... Let me try something else..._ As I focused my thoughts, Liara suddenly appeared in front of me. _Well... Atleast you aren't a disembodied voice any more..._

_**Yes that was quite disconcerting for a while there... It would seem that your Nanocells have provided you with some form of a mental barrier as your mind was not open to my attempts of accessing your memories until now and yet it is still blocked.**_

_So let me get this straight... If another Asari were to try and meld with me against my will, they wouldn't be able to completely?_

_**Yes... Although it would be highly unlikely for an Asari to do such a thing... **_

_Ok... So give me a second here... _I focused as much as I could on Liara and her presence that I felt in my mind. As I stood there, she tilted her head at my and raised what looks like her eyebrow. Then suddenly, something that looked like a vid screen popped up and started showing something...

_OH SHIT!_ I yelled... thought... whatever it was I was doing to communicate with Liara. What was showing was the first moments from when I woke up in the Normandy's med bay from my point of view. Liara must have realized as much, as she turned a shade of purple when I managed to turn off the display only after it showed my realization that I was naked when I first woke up.

_**Well... It would seem that your body is an excellent example of the male human form...**_

_Glad you approve... _ I said, feeling my face burn red from embarrassment at which the image of Liara smiled.. _Now then how about we get what we came here for. I'm sure the others are getting a little impatient. _ I focused on the moments before the beacon picked me up, and as expected they showed up on the screen I had created. Unlike before though, the vision was slowed down and I was able to make more sense of it. I could see some sort of monster coming from someplace far away, which was followed by pain and death. I looked to Liara and saw that she was transfixed by the vision. Her face turned to a look of pure horror when the final images of a ship, shaped like the one John, Ash, Kaiden and I saw on Eden Prime, came up.

_Liara... LIARA! _I yelled at her, hoping to snap her out of whatever state she was in.

_**I'm sorry Commander... I never thought that I would ever encounter a Prothean artifact such as this vision you have. Unfortunately, the beacon must have been damaged because the vision is incomplete. It does however confirm your theory about the Reapers. The beacon's message was a warning about the invasion.**_

_Alright that is good to hear. Also, you don't have to call me Commander either; Ryan or Mitchell is fine. Now... How do we get out of this?_

_**It's just a simple matter of me releasing the meld... I must say again that this has been quiet an experience... **_

_Yeah... It has been... Not to sound like an idiot here but I kinda hope we... um what I mean to say is that... uh... _Goddamnit why am I stumbling so much!

Liara smiled at me and lightly grabbed my arm _**Me too Com-... Ryan**_

* * *

**Comm Room**

**Normandy SR-1**

As soon as Liara broke off the meld, it felt as if a part of me was missing now and I didn't like it... It felt... wrong... I caught myself from falling over in time to grab Liara who was starting to fall her self. Apparently the act of mind melding takes a lot of energy from both parties, unless my Nanocells were to blame of course. As I set her back into her seat, I notice that her skin was a lighter shade of blue than before.

"How long did we take?" I asked out loud when I was got a reassuring nod from Liara that she would be ok.

"Only about a minute," I heard John reply, "Why? What happened?"

I turned around to face him and saw that everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting for news of what Liara and I experienced. I looked to Liara, and saw that she was still recovering. _Damn... _

"Basically, once Liara initiated the meld, I had to lower some mental barriers I didn't know I had to let her into my memories. Then I had to actually find the memory of the vision. It seemed like it took at least 15 minutes. We found that the vision was incomplete but was a warning of the Reaper invasion. Other than that it didn't reveal anything else. Liara should probably head to see Chakwas as soon as possible."

John looked like he deflated a little bit with that information, but he kept going. "Ok, we need to head to back to the Citadel so we can resupply and gather more information. The Omni-plant also needs to be brought online so we can improvise some new upgrades. If the Geth start wide spread use of the same rounds that hit you Ryan, we need to be ready. Crew dismissed." I looked over to Liara and saw that her skin had went back to its normal blue color. _I hope these damn Nanocells didn't mess her up..._

Joker's voice then came over the PA as everyone stood up to leave, "Mission report has been sent Commander's, want me to patch you through to the Council?"

"Wait... Mission report? I never filled one out..." I questioned John.

"Since there are two Spectres working the same mission, the senior one is the only one that has to file a report." John replied.

"What? How are you the senior one here? We were inducted at the same time!"

"Who has a higher rank?" John retorted.

"Whose literally older?" John and I were staring at each other. Although I was several inches taller than him, he definitely exuded an air of confidence and intimidation which I attempted to return. Unfortunately, both of us smirked at the same time at which point we both started laughing.

"Patch the Council in Joker" John said after we were able to collect ourselves.

A few seconds later and the holographic forms of the Councilors showed up behind the console John and I leaned on earlier.

"We've received your report, Commander's. I understand Dr. T'Soni is on the Normandy." The Asari Councilor started which the Turian Councilor followed up with,

"I assume you're taking the necessary security precautions?"

John looked at me, _Figures, since I was the one who melded with her AND took a bullet for her_, "There is no need for any precautions. Liara has sworn that she has had no contact with Matriarch Benezia or Saren for that matter. Look at the evidence as well Councilor, the Geth were trying to kill her. If I had not shielded her from a Geth sniper, they would have succeeded.." I answered.

"Benezia would never allow Saren to kill her daughter." The Asari Councilor retorted.

The Salarian Councilor added "Maybe Benezia had no knowledge of Sarens actions toward Dr. T'Soni"

Naturally, the Turian Councilor took the opposite approach "Or maybe we don't know her. We never expected she could become a traitor."

I was about ready to sucker punch the hologram of the Turain Councilor. _How could one person be such a militant pessimist about everything that exists? _

"At least the mission was a success." The Salarian Councilor replied, which calmed my nerves a little bit. _ I thought this was supposed to be a report, not an investigation..._

"Apart from the utter destruction of a major Prothean ruin! Was that really necessary Shepard and Mitchell?" questioned the Turian Councilor. _Somebody is going to have to hold me back if we ever get into an argument in person from beating this guy's face in..._

John chose to answer that, seeing how I was ready to kill something, "If you read the report, you'd know that it wasn't our doing that caused the seismic event that made the dig site into a lava pit. Even if we were the cause, the Geth were all over the site. We were lucky we got out with minimal casualties."

"Of course. The mission must always take priority." The Salarian Councilor replied.

"Good luck, Commanders. Remember, we're all counting on you." The Asari Councilor reminded us.

_Right... Good thing its not the first time for me apparently..._

* * *

**A/N:**

**-As always, any and all reviews, suggestions, ideas, praise etc etc are welcome!**

**- DONT FORGET TO VOTE ON THE POLL! SHOULD THE COUNCIL LIVE OR DIE?**

**-Please keep in mind that Chapter 2 will be updated before Chapter 10 is posted. So if your getting anxious for a new chapter, go back and check out the rewritten chapters!**


	10. A Friend in Need, part I

ME:The Unsung Hero

Chapter 10

A Friend In Need, part I

* * *

**A/N:... *peaks head from around corner* **Uh... Hi guys!***ducks back behind corner, avoiding several potentially fatal thrown objects* **Hey now! You better be careful with what your throwing! Anyways, I must apologize for not getting this chapter out sooner, but school, work, and family kinda tore me away from my computer. But I'm back and with good news!

The story has broken the 12k hits mark! Thanks for all the attention!

The 50 review mark was also broken! While I'm glad that almost every review is one of praise, I decided to give you guys some incentive to write more reviews... which I'll tell you at the ending **A/N**

If you've been checking, Chapter 2 has been updated in a format that should hopefully make it easier for you to figure whose perspective your reading from and when.

Also, with so much time spent away from my computer, I've had a couple plot bunnies start bouncing around in my head. I've got an itch to write a Stargate/Mass Effect and an Iron Man/Mass Effect crossover. Me being me, I'm going to take an entirely different approach for both so that the SG/ME crossover wont start off like every other one I've read, and the IM/ME would be based on the IM movies, not the comics. If anyone is interested in contributing or making one or both a collab please let me know!

OK enough ranting... The story must go on!

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Comm Room**

Having just finished giving our report to the Councilors, I was ready to tear something apart. The Turian Councilor, it seemed, just sat around to find a reason to get John and I off the Spectres. Every question I've heard from him was loaded to get us to burst out at him. _I think I might have to have a sparring session with Wrex to get rid of this feeling. _As I stood in the same spot, lost in thought, John must have noticed because he suddenly punched my shoulder. _Hard_.

"Gah! What the hell John? Did you use your biotics for that?" I asked as I rubbed the spot he punched.

"To answer your first question: to get your mind off the Turian Councilor. Then for the second question: yes I did, and for the inevitable third question: So I could see how you'd react. Most people would have a broken arm from that kind of punch." John answered smugly at first which gave way to impressed.

"OK, #1 Thanks, #2 Your an ass, and #3Aren't I special?" I retorted.

"Yeah speaking about that..." John started. "I know this entire situation can't be easy for you. Hell, we picked you up floating in space, told you that humanity made contact with aliens and can travel the galaxy. To top it off, you have a piece of technology that makes everything else look like bows and arrows and your trying to stop a crazy man from destroying the galaxy."

When John finished his little rant, I took a deep breath and went and sat in the chair Liara was in earlier. "Welll... Since you put it that way, yeah I guess I'm in a unique situation. Then add in the amnesia bit and I'm a walking talking legend."

"About that, have you recovered any memories yet? Anything that could tell us about who you are?" John asked, trying to make it sound comforting but failing.

"Yeah... Before we prepped for picking up Liara, I got a pretty good one." I said. As I told John the details of the dream, which I some how was able to remember crystal clear, I saw his entire demeanor change when I mentioned the name Hargreave.

"Wait... Your telling me that you were apart of the Ceph Incursion?" John asked as soon as he heard the man's name.

"I don't know John, all I know is that he selected me to be the test pilot for his prototype suit, which I assume is the one currently sitting in my quarters. What is the Ceph Incursion anyway?"

"Long story short, an advanced alien civilization was discovered at Ling Shan Island in 2020. They had been on earth for millions of years but were dormant. After the initial breakout from the aliens, who we called the Ceph, the U.S military was able to contain them. It was bloody though, because the aliens had created some sort of energy sphere which made conventional combat almost impossible. Some how, and no one knows the details, the mother ship that made up most of the island was destroyed. Then 3 years later, the Ceph showed up in New York City. First there was some kind of plague, which led to chaos as different civilian, private, and military groups tried to establish control. Once it seemed like it couldn't get any worse, the Ceph showed up, but with some different tech. Again, some one, and no one knows who, was able to use the plague spore against the Ceph and used it to eradicate them."

As John went it story telling mode, which he was very good at, I began to get some more flashes in my memory. It started off as nothing, as as John continued, my head started to ache like someone was inside it with a jack hammer.

"Um.. John..." I started off, the headache was getting worse by the second. I could barely focus on talking, "You... might need... to get me... to Chak-"

_Goddamnit not again_

* * *

**A/N: This is going to start answer some questions about Mitchell's past in the Air Force, his involvement in the Crysis events, and something else I cooked up so be ready!**

**Again, I feel I have to specify that I AM NOT A MEMBER OF ANY US ARMED FORCES! While I would love to join the U.S. Air Force, I am not currently able to. If there are however any active members or vets who are reading this, please let me know what needs improving because I'm not big headed enough to think that I know everything about squad tactics, etc etc.**

* * *

**Mitchell's Body: **

** En route to Citadel**

** Normandy SR-1**

** Comm Room**

** 2183**

**Mitchell's Mind: **

** Vandenburg AFB**

** Santa Barbara, CA**

** USA**

** 2020**

_Maybe enlisting wasn't what it was cut out to be anymore..._ I argued with myself. _I have been in the Air Force for 12 years, and I just turned 30 a month and a half ago..._

I was walking down the hall from my "office" to the mess hall. Even though it was 3 pm., the hall was busy with guys trying to get a quick early dinner in before their evening excercises. Ever since the 1000 day war, the US military realized that their standards for physical fitness wasn't enough any more and all active combat ready personnel had to do at least 2 different work outs a day. The Air Force was more lenient at Vandenburg, allowing for either basic PT or for ones own personal workout which was monitored by the biometric implants that we were testing out. Gone were the days of paper medical records and multiple chances to reestablish ones fitness. If you failed a bimonthly Official Fitness Evaluation (OFE), you had 2 weeks to retrain under a superior officer's supervision before you did a retake. If you also failed that retake, no matter what rank or how many years you put in, you forfeited your contract and any lasting benefits.

As I got in line to get some food, several of the airmen gave me knowing nods. It was well known throughout the base that I wasn't one for salutes when I was a grunt like them. _Although a highly trained and intelligent grunt_. While waiting for the line to move, I started thinking about the 1000 day war.

* * *

_With the need for oil at an all time high in 2009, OPEC declared that its fields were dry. Naturally, crude oil quickly became as important as the need to eat, and its price sky rocketed. When the last 20 oil tankers left the Gulf, there were several small navies from all over the world, (minus the United States, European Union, and Russian Federation having already agreed to finally tap their own untouched fields and share equally) waiting to intercept them. When it seemed like a small naval skirmish was about to start, suddenly a privately owned boat under the Chinese flag exploded in a 20 megaton nuclear explosion. Vaporizing the oil tankers and all the small navies of the lesser 1st World Countries. _

_The owner of the boat, was eventually found to have ties directly to the Chinese leadership. Meanwhile, every major intelligence agency had their best satellites up over the Gulf. They each captured in minute detail the exact locations and names of each vessel within 200 miles of the blast. While everyone else was reeling from the first aggressive nuclear detonation in just over 70 years, the Chinese military made its move. _

_The "Billion Man Army" (BMA) as it was known around the world, plowed its way throughout South Eastern Asia. With North Korea's Korean Peoples Army (KPA) being the BMA's meat shields, their combined forces overran the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The Republic of Korea Army (ROK) put up one helluva fight, even after the Chinese used napalm bombs to clear the large minefield, they managed to hold the DMZ for 3 days with help from the US QRF (Quick Reaction Force) of 10,000 Marines who were stationed in Seoul. Unfortunately, it was a war of quality versus quantity. Quality, no matter how good, had no chance of defeating a force nearly 1000 times their size._

* * *

I finally got up to food, and the server gave me a dollop of everything. While most of the stuff was impossible to make out what it was, it tasted OK and provided a very well balanced diet for those who burned over 3000 calories a day. As I mindlessly made my way to an empty table, my thoughts drifted off again.

* * *

_With all the hustle and bustle going on, it took analysts days to figure out what the Chinese were up to. They were spreading almost in every direction, save towards Russia or Japan. The countries they were invading were already unofficial allies to the Chinese, yet they put up resistance as best as they could. It wasn't until an unknown source made it abundantly clear. Using the nuclear detonation as a cover, the dwindling Chinese economy needed something to jump start itself. By utilizing the fortress strategy Empirical Japan used in World War II, China was aiming to control as many resources as possible and to create a buffer zone, seeing that the Big 3 (US, EU, and RF) already had a head start in resources._

_By this point, the UN was nearly useless. Their pleas for a immediate discontinuation of hostilities fell on deaf Chinese ears. The respective Big 3 leaders, seeing that they needed to halt the Chinese by force, formed the Alliance Defense Initiative. By temporarily combining their collective forces while maintaining their own basic command structure with some minor alterations, ADI moved in on the expanding Chinese forces. _

_It was at that time that I had finished my Air Force Special Ops training. While in basic, I had climbed the ranks, gaining the respect of everyone in my platoon and even the Brigadier General in charge of the base. In every area of testing, I continually broke the records, my more noted records were in Marksmanship, in every unclassified weapon class (hand guns, sub-machine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles) that were offered to beginning recruits. _

_The toughest records I broke weren't even intentional. While learning Close Quarter Combat, I managed to out do the instructing officer (who was a highly decorated one at that) who was a 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do as well as a Marine Corps CQC master. The fight was brutal, each of us having broken bones in our fists, feet, chest, and face. The cuts and bruises were nothing compared to the sheer intensity with which we fought. Once the General's XO, a Colonel, found out about our match, which had been going on for an hour at that point, came out and ordered us to stand down. _

_The instructing officer, being a Major, should have obeyed that order. Instead, as soon as I respectfully obeyed the Colonel's orders and went to parade rest, the Major decided to make a final strike. Luckily I was able to defend the solar plexus punch by slamming my elbow into the side of his wrist, grabbing his now exposed head, brought it over my shoulder with him at my back, and threw him over. As I threw him, I was able to get my arm around him for a choke hold in such a way that by the time he landed I had him in a full headlock, with my longer and stronger legs wrapped around his torso. The Major, unwilling to accept defeat, never tapped out. It wasn't until the Colonel came over and told me to let him go that I finally did._

* * *

I didn't realize it, but at that point my right hand itched a scar on my left arm from that fight. The Major's broken finger had a bone sticking out past the sick and it tore a rather large gash when it grazed my arm when I blocked the punch he had thrown.

* * *

_When I finally graduated basic, I was the undisputed top of my class, and as such the General took me into his office and gave me my options. I could attend Officer Training School and become a commissioned officer, or I could take any posting I wanted. Every Air Force Commander who had been at a water cooler had heard my name and wanted me to join their command. I chose a third option which the General didn't think of. _

_6 months later I emerged from my self made hell hole that was Special Tactics Squad training. I had gone in with 100 other freshly graduated airmen, officers and combat vets. By the third week, 40 had dropped out, mostly due to injury. By the end of the second month, another 30 had dropped. Out of the remaining 30, 10 were new airmen, 15 were the vets, and the other 5 were the new officers. Each of us were determined to become part of the 720th Special Tactics Group, or simply STG. Being US Air Force our training would be focused on two of three main areas: Para-rescue, Combat Control, or Weathermen. It was highly encouraged that, during the 3rd month when we covered the basics of each, that we choose one specialty and one secondary, which during the remainder of the course we would focus our attention on. Naturally I went with Para-rescue and Combat Control._

_Training to be a Para-rescuer (aka PJ's) entailed that I along with other PJ's or Special Forces (SF) teams would be inserted into hostile territory to pick up a downed pilot or another priority target, and if need be fight our way in or out. We covered many different ways of entry and egress: parachute (basic and High Altitude Low Opening), combat diving, and underwater egress. In addition, we were given enough medical training to be able to treat anything from a bullet wound to a hangover, as well as survival training that would make those reality TV shows look like camping in your backyard. _

_Combat Controller training was just as important as it was fun for me. Combat Controller Technicians (CCT's) were trained to covertly find, create, or take control of landing zones/airstrips while guiding aircraft in and out of the battlefield. They also had the battlefield authority to call in airstrikes from any capable aircraft in the area. Here we were taught how to use Primacord to create a quick LZ for helicopters, or how to suppress resistance at an air port for a friendly to land. Naturally we were also trained that in case of being overrun, how to render an airfield inoperable by devastating the runway with a new kind of plastic explosive. I had always had a fascination with things that went boom, and being able to carry enough explosives to level a sky scraper just added to it._

_Each of these "courses" took six weeks, and by the time the remainder of the 6 month STS training was up, only 10 of the original100 were left. Besides myself, there were 2 other enlisted airmen, 1 officer, and 6 vets. Right after the closed door graduation we received which was headed by the General of the Air Force (4 Star General) and one of the members of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), we were given a weeks leave before we received our official assignments._

* * *

Too bad I didn't have any one to go back too. My family was dead in a drunk driving accident. The idiot was traveling down the highway, swervely slightly. As my father tried to pass him, the drunk bastard swerved directly into my family's car right behind the right rear tire well. That caused my family's car to spin out directly in line with an oncoming semi. The doctors and police told me that my parents felt no pain.

I didn't care about them at the time. I was just finishing my senior year in high school, and was on a school trip when I got the call. As soon as I found out the drunkards name, I found where he lived and confronted him. If it hadn't been for my girlfriend, who showed up a few minutes after I had arrived, the murderer would have been a quadriplegic. When the police found out about it, they threw me in jail only to have me released. The same murdering douchebag who I had nearly killed told them that he wasn't going to press charges and paid for my bail. It was at that moment where I had an epiphany, I realized that my father would want me to take that rage I had and focus it towards something meaningful. That was when I decided to forgo college and go into the Air Force. My girlfriend, who I had been with for 3 years at that point, broke up with me so she could join the Army.

* * *

_The base where we trained was so isolated and classified that when we were sent here, we arrived on a bus with all its windows blacked out and the driver was completely separated from the rest of the bus. That same bus was waiting for us out side the compound. The 10 of us, having been through hell together, had quickly become close friends despite differences in rank, we were class STS-392 and no one would be able to take that from us. We were waiting in the lounge hall that we had learned about right before graduation for one of the other airmen. He was busy making sure that he hadn't forgot anything even though we all had come with almost nothing._

_One of the vets was flicking through the channels on the TV, all that was on was the news about the then recent nuclear explosion in the Gulf, and the Chinese-Asian War. Suddenly, the broadcasts stopped saying the President was going to be giving an emergency speech._

"_My fellow American's. As you all know, the Middle East group OPEC recently declared their oil fields were dry, used up. A short few days ago, the last of the oil tankers that were leaving the Gulf were met with an international navy bent on claiming those tankers. Before things escalated, a nuclear device was set off killing thousands of sailors and civilians. The fallout of the explosion continues to come down, but with no one taking the blame, the world's attention was shifted away. Yesterday, Chinese forces began to push into sovereign Asian countries with extreme force and prejudice. I have just learned that as of 4 hours ago, North Korea backed up by Chinese military assets attacked and crossed the Korean Demilitarized Zone to begin a second Korean war. _

_I know not the reason behind these acts of war, but one thing has become abundantly clear. The Chinese and North Korean Armies have encroached on our allies' sovereign soil in an act of war and as such I am asking the United States Congress the European Union, and the Russian Federation to band together in declaring an act of war upon the Chinese and North Koreans. Those who show no respect for another countries sovereignty should be shown no respect in return. It matters not their reasons for this war, but the fact that instead of seeking a diplomatic solution they have chosen a militaristic one. I am calling for a full mobilization of U.S. Military forces to begin immediately."_

_I was speechless at the time. Everyone had expected there to be another Korean War eventually, but not this soon, especially not when it was combined with the Chinese expansion. I looked around the room at my friends. They all were listening to the reporter's reaction to the news._

"_Well, gentlemen..." We all spun around to source of the voice and saluted. The General of the Air Force was standing at the door that led to the black bus. "You got a war to fight..."_

* * *

"**MASTER SEARGANT MITCHELL TO THE GENERAL'S OFFICE... REPEAT... MASTER SEARGANT MITCHELL TO THE GENERAL'S OFFICE."** The PA announcement had broken my train of thought. _Great... Hope this isn't about my "project"..._

* * *

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Hate to leave you guys in suspense, but it's for a good reason! I have to say thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story so far! Your support as been amazing!**

**To repay you guys in a way, I would like it if those of you with your own Mass Effect OC's to come up with a scene in which your OC would play a cameo part and put it in a review so every one can see! The top five will be listed in the next chapters Author's Note and a poll will be made for you guys to decide!**


	11. A Friend in Need, part II

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 11: A Friend In Need, part II

* * *

**A/N:**

HOLY HELL!

First off the story jumped almost 2000 hits with the addition of chapter 10. Either I'm just that lucky or the story is that interesting.

Secondly, thanks to all of you that have submitted your Mass Effect OC's to have a cameo role in my story. If I don't get any more, I'll be able to get the 3 submissions I got already in to my story, otherwise once I hit five submissions its going to a poll vote. For an example of what I mean, look at GIRLIKESTACOS review of chapter 10. Chances are that I've read your story and already know your OC, so no pressure!

Also, the 1000 Day War (abrevviated as KDW) is in no way WWIII, because it's 3 countries versus 1.5 (China being 1.25 and North Korea being .25 or is that too much credit?) and its going to be very localized fighting as will be described here and later on. (Yes there will be more flash backs, other wise this chapter would get boring both for you to read and for me to write!)

Next, while I wasn't expecting much of a response for an offer to work together on a collab, only one person responded! Hopefully once you read the short excerpts I have at the end of the chapter I'll get some more responses.

Finally, for those of you who absolutely love this story, I post updates on my progress on my profile. So if you REALLY want to know how soon it'll be before the new chapter is posted, check my profile!

On ward with the story!

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Comm Room**

**2183**

As John was finishing his history lesson with Mitchell, he noticed that Mitchell seemed distracted when he said certain words; in particular 'Ceph', 'Ling Shan', and 'Hargreave'. When Mitchell had told him about meeting Jacob Hargreave and being selected for a prototype testing, his mind began to spin. The main cause behind the Ceph mother ship on Ling Shan blowing up was never released; the only survivor of the team that was sent in was shipped directly to Hargeave's main office in New York. No one was ever able to get the man's name.

Being of a military family, John could tell that whatever had happened with the Ceph Incursion, Earth's true First Contact War, the military had erased the key players from history either because of what they did or how they did it. Something wasn't adding up. If Mitchell's memories could be trusted, then he may have been one of those forgotten hero's of Earths' past and if these Reapers that Saren and the Geth are trying to bring back turn out to be real, then the Earth would need hero's to look up too and believe in.

_Of course when I try to figure this stuff out, Mitchell has to fall unconscieous!_

"Shepard to Chakwas! Get a medical team up here!" John yelled at the air, knowing that the Normandy's VI would pick up his voice command and broadcast it throughout the ship to be sure that all the necessary personel heard the order.

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Crew Deck**

After being dismissed by Shepard and Mitchell, Liara ha gone down to visit the Normandy's doctor. She had caught a little bit of the argument Shepard and Mitchell were having and couldn't tell if they were being serious.

_Who is to blame here though?_ She chastised herself _I have not made any effort to get to know any humans, although I probably would have made a fool of myself anyways..._

Liara had just finished getting checked by Dr. Chakwas when Shepard's voice came over the Normandy's PA.

"**Shepard to Chakwas! Get a medical team up here!"** As far as Liara could tell, Shepard's voice indicated that he was extremely worried about whoever it was.

Without missing a beat, Dr. Chakwas replied back, "Chakwas to Shepard, whats the situation?"

Shepard's voice came back in a hurried fashion, "Chakwas, it's Mitchell. He's fallen unconscieous, rapid eye movement, and has erratic hearbeat. We are in the Comm Room, get up here now! My Omni-tool can't find anything physically wrong." Liara's heart skipped a beat when she heard it was Mitchell who was hurt. She looked expectantly to the wiser medical doctor, hoping to see her move quickly into action. When Chakwas didn't and checked something on her Omni-tool, Liara was ready to run up to the comm room herself and see what she could do to help.

"Commander, set your Omni-tool up with the sensor data package I'm sending you now and then scan his head completely." Chakwas ordered just as Liara left the med bay.

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Comm Room**

When Mitchell had fallen unconscieous, he had simply gone limp. Since he was resting his head in his hands from what must have been one helluva headache, he ended up dropping straightover and on to the floor. As John called Chakwas, he manuevered Mitchell's body so he was lying flat. Once John had installed the sensor data package Chakwas had sent via the Normandy's internal wireless network, he began to scan Mitchell's head as ordered.

"I wonder if it has anything to do with the Prothean Beacon..." he muttered out loud.

"I would presume that the experience of the meld accompanied with re-experiencing the Prothean vision may have caused some kind of reaction." Liara said as she entered the Comm Room, causing John to jump up slighly.

"Jesus, Liara... Aren't you supposed to be getting checked out by Chakwas?"

"She told me I was fine, just needed some rest. Can you tell me what happened?" Liara asked, hoping that it wasn't the mind meld. It had been a very different experience from what she had been accustomed to hearing about from other Asari. She knelt down on the other side of Mitchell and looked at Shepard waiting for the explanation.

"After the meeting with the Council, Ryan was about ready to break a bulkhead in half." John started, before Liara cut him off with the classic shocked look; mouth hanging open and eyes wide with a mix of fear and confusion.

"Goddess, what would make him so mad?" she asked.

"The Turian councilor, and to tell you the truth I wouldn't have minded taking a shot at the guy either. After I... _calmed_ him down a bit, we got to talking about him and his amenisa. He told me about a memory he recovered shortly before we came to rescue you, and some of the details he mentioned are making everything about him even more confusing." John stopped there, the new sensor in his omni-tool having completed its task with a beep. John then began to rescan Mitchell's chest as he spoke "Chakwas, sending you the results now, and it seems like his heart rate and blood pressure have stabilized again. Still has a lot of rapid eye movement though."

There was a long period of silence as Liara and John waited for Chakwas to respond. To Liara it felt like an eternity had gone by, until finally Chakwas responded, "Ok Commander, I don't know how but the readings you gathered are similar to someone who is the deepest stage of sleep from which they can't be woken up."

"So what do we do?" John asked.

"The only thing we can do is make him comfortable, there is no need for supervision either since he is essentially asleep." Chakwas replied.

"Ok, I'll take him to his quarters then. Hopefully he wakes up before we get to the Citadel. Joker, how far out are we?"

"Well, unless you want to make a side trip to Tuchanka for Wrex, I'd say about 20 hours, a day at most." Joker said.

"Ok, best possible speed Joker, lets get there quickly but as efficently as we can."

"Aye-aye Commander"

As John looked down at Mitchell's body he couldn't help but feel like the universe is revolving around Mitchell now... _I also don't want to have to carry his 250 pound ass down the stairs either..._

"Um... Commander," Liara spoke up, "Would you like some help getting Ryan down to his quarters?" she offered.

"Yeah sure Liara, the two of us together should be able to lift him biotically, I know I couldn't keep him up for much more than a minute." John said as he stood up and started to rub his hands together like he was an old school weight lifter. As soon as Liara stood up, the air around them started to increase in static electricity as they both generated a single mass effect field just strong enough to lift Mitchell up off the floor but still manageable like a gurney.

With a nod to each other, they put their hands out in front of them slowly and moved them towards the door. The mass effect field/gurney responded appropriately by gliding towards the door which opened automatically for the trio. As soon as they entered the CIC though, their path was blocked by Ash, Kaiden and Tali all of whom had come up to see what was going on.

"Shepard!" They all shouted at once as the door opened, but when they saw Mitchell's feet floating their way out of the Comm Room, they immediately got out of the way. Tali and Ash, once they realized what was going on, went ahead to the stair well on the Normandy's port side to make sure it was clear as John and Liara guided Mitchell's floating body down to his quarters.

* * *

**Mitchell's Body: **

** En route to Citadel**

** Normandy SR-1**

** 2183**

**Mitchell's Mind: **

** Vandenburg AFB**

** Santa Barbara, CA**

** USA**

** 2020**

"**MASTER SEARGANT MITCHELL TO THE GENERAL'S OFFICE... REPEAT... MASTER SEARGANT MITCHELL TO THE GENERAL'S OFFICE."** The PA announcement had broken my train of thought. _Great... Hope this isn't about my "project"... _I quickly finished what was left on my tray and quickly made for the hall way that would take me to the General's office the quickest. _If it is about "Athena" hope he was able to get the Joint Chiefs on board... We _**_need_**_ to be able to adequately test it before we can make any final suggestions_. _Although I suppose I should be happy that this project even got started at all..._

As I made my way to the General's Office, I passed by several airmen, officers, and even some flag officers. All of them gave me a wide berth, _perhaps because there is only one Mitchell on Vandenburg that wears the 720__th__ STG patch on his sleeves. _Regardless, I continued thinking about how I got to where I am today, thanks mostly to the 1000 Days War(KDW).

* * *

_After the President had given his emergency speech, my friends and I who had just graduated as STS-392 looked to the General of the Air Force and gave him the appropriate salute. General Doolittle, a descendant of the famous General Jimmy H. Doolittle, had the same commanding presense that his great grandfather had._

"_Gentleman, you **are** the best that the Air Force has to offer. I received a breifing from . that outlined the Presidents goals for this campaign right after the ceremony. Rather than risk a global war, the President is authorizing extreme use of the Special Forces to accomplish our goals. The Chinese Peoples Army is mainly run by brainwashing their troops since their birth, but that leaves their basic grunts almost as useless as a neighborhood watch group. In short if we can eliminate their supplies and their field officers, their army will lose integrity and implode. _

_While we will have full air support from both the Navy and Air Force, any deep strike ops will be on their own to accomplish their objectives. To that end, one of our contractors has come up with something that should tip the odds in our favor. Would Master Seargant Ryan Mitchell, Lieutenant Greg Hawk, and Airman Niles Brady come with me please?"_

* * *

Finally I reached General Hawk's outer office, where his aide, Colonel Wray was sitting at his desk doing who knows what. _Probably trying find something that'll get him that promotion to a Brigadier General_. After I closed the outer door, I saluted since Col. Wray was one of the staunch believers in showing "respect" to superior officers even if you know them personally. Wray just nodded and tilted his head to his left, indicating that I could take a seat to wait for the General to summon me.

Thankfully I didn't have to wait long, Gen. Hawk came out of his office a short time later with a tablet PC in his hands and motioned for me to come into his office. I promptly followed him in and closed the door behind myself. I knew from first hand experience that the General's office was specially made so that any bugs or surveillance devices on a person would be deactivated as soon as the door closed. _Still need to get him to pay for that digital camera,_ I mused at the running joke we had between us. The General had been the lone officer that graduated with me in STS-392, so he didn't particularly care if I saluted him or not, especially since I had to save his ass in Korea. _Although it wasn't entirely his fault though either, intel had been way wrong about the size of the Chinese force at his landing zone._

"Ryan, I have great news, good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" Hawk started off with first as he sat down in his cushy leather chair

"You know me, hit me with the bad first." I replied as I sat down on the uncomfortable, back breaking chairs meant for the General's visitors. _Yeah so they can't focus on what they are going to say next thanks to the pain._

"Ok, your proposal to amp up "Athena" wasn't well received."

"I figured as much, with all of our R&D money going to producing Nanosuits, why bother with new weapon systems for the rest of JSOC?"

"Exactly the Joint Chiefs thoughts, here's the good news. They are willing to let you have a suit so you can run your integration tests on it."

"So let me get this straight? The Joint Chiefs are just gonna play the "wait and see what happens" game again? Honest to God Hawk! If I hadn't turned down so many promotions because I didn't want to deal with the damn political horseshit thats going on in Washington I'd be a fucking 5-Star General! "

"I know Ryan I know! Believe me, if I had it in my operations budget I'd give you everything you needed. This weapon system can revolutionize rail gun tech beyond what the GK8 Gauss Rifle has already, but no one wants to come up with new weapon systems right now."

"So what's the great news then?"

"Hargreave-Rasch and their subsidiary CryNet are willing to help you out, particularly in technicans and manufacturing. They did after all design the GK8."

"Yeah, which is only useful as a replacement for a sniper rifle or in a limited mid-range combat setting." The GK8 Guass Rifle was the first true to life hand held railgun system, but it was limited to firing one round about every 3 seconds and was overkill on everything with out ablavtive or ceramic armor. _Which is why I wanted to scale everything down, so that our non-Nanosuited guys would have an even greater advantage._

As I sat in thought, Hawk let me have my 'thousand-mile-stare' as he called it for a few minutes before he spoke up, "I know you hate when I bring it up, but the top brass see this as a means to try and out do the Nanosuits by you."

That got my blood boiling, "You have got to be fucking kidding me! So because the United States Air Force's top PJ and CCT actually failed in something, they are viewing _my_ project as a... a... revenge tactic? Sounds like some one in Washington has been waiting for this moment for a long time..."

Hawk adverted his eyes away from mine when I said that last sentence, almost in shame. _No way..._ "Ryan... You gotta trust me when I say this, but myself and few other generals have been your biggest supporters, but there are some of those in positions of _considerable_ influence that have been wanting to see you fall..."

"No... You have _**got **_to be shitting me! It's fucking Obrian isn't it!" Chief of Staff Niel Obrian was the Major I had beaten so long ago in basic, and being C.o.S. Meant he had access to practically every single person he needed to ruin any ones career, no matter where they were; military, political, private, or civilian, and I was in his crosshairs.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

About a year ago, JSOC went around and asked for volunteers to try out a new kind of battlefield armor, one that would give the wearer a tremendous advantage. I didn't know it at the time, but I was the only Air Force Spec Ops guy selected, all the other _canidates _were either Delta Force or Navy SEALs. When we all arrived at the training ground at a base that was simply called Groom Lake (although almost all Air Force officers know it as Dreamland, where the newest tech is developed and tested years before its even available) in Nevada, we were shocked when they first revealed the Nanosuit to us. The suit basically replaced everything a Spec Ops team would need for armor and other miscellaneous gear while ramping up the wearers endurance, speed, strength and even letting them blend in with their surroundings.

While in 2v1 sparring fight with a SEAL and a Delta during the training, I ended up tearing my right knee's ACL completely. While I protested with the General who was running the training/recruitment, I was let go from the program because I "was not at my physical best". The Delta guy, whose callsign was Nomad, apologized for what happened, and hoped I would be able to join him in the future. Go figure that my first and only serious injury would occur during a simple sparring match.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

"You got it in one buddy, I feel like I should tell you, that all those promotions you turned down were never actually turned down. They are all still in the system waiting to be approved by your commanding officer and his superior. Granted that you wouldn't be that 5-Star you mentioned, but you'd be a flag grade officer with enough pull that Obrian would no longer be able to lay his hands on you." Hawk said very simply, almost with an encouraging undertone.

"Hawk... You know what comes with being a flag-grade officer..."

"A desk, which I must point out you already have..."

"True, but then I'd be chained to that desk and thats not what I want. My skills are better put to use out in the field, and not being an armchair general." I countered.

"Ryan, look at this from a different angle which I know you can do. You turned 30 a few months ago, in the Spec Ops world thats like being 45, close to retirement, being an old man. With the skills, experience, and knowledge you have, you could have any job in the civil sector, or become a trainer at STS and see that your legacy lives on. You could even settle down with Sarah if you wanted too. I know you two have been seeing each other again when you leave the base."

_Ah... I wondered when he would find out..._ Sarah was my girlfriend who had left me for the Army when we graduated high school. Somehow during the height of the KDW, her unit was deployed to one of several forward operating bases in Korea, which happened to be the same base my team and I were running out of. Needless to say, during a North Korean counterattack, _more like retribution for my team putting a 50-cal. rifle round through Kim Jong Ill's head, followed by a precision satillite weapon strike ordered by me_, she was wounded and one of a few survivors in the base before my team and I showed up and cleaned house.

* * *

The base had a small crew, only a platoon's worth of soldiers to help with some scouting and perimeter defense, besides my crew and our support staff. The North Koreans came in with a full battalion (**A/N:** platoon: 22-55 troops, battalion: 300-1300), it was a slaughter house before my team came in and brought down the wrath of god on them. Of the 1000 KPA that assaulted the base, 729 were killed by my team and an orbital strike. _That still counts for your team though..._

I never knew Sarah had been deployed until I had found her in the wreckage of one of the portable buildings. Her and I had fallen out of touch, _being a part of an elite Spec Ops team does that you know_, and I never knew if she had found another boyfriend. I on the other hand didn't want to deal with losing another person close to me, especially after losing my parents. As I treated her wounds, a gunshot to the leg, a broken arm, dislocated shoulder and some minor burns, I made her a promise that I would take her to our favorite restaurant back home in Wisconsin when we got out of here.

As fate would have it, the KDW ended a few days later. My team and I, given the fact that we took out Kim Jong Ill and were the first team deployed got 6 months of guarenteed leave by the President himself. He apparently had read all of our mission reports personally and was supremely impressed with the job we did. With half a year to spend as I saw fit, I chose to go home. _Home... thats a place doesn't exist anymore..._

I helped Sarah recuperate while we stayed at my parents old house, which I technically owned. I had used a good chunk of my pay to have people clean and keep the house in order even though I hadn't been there in almost 3 years; it was just like I remembered it from graduation night. I had spent that night getting ready for basic instead of partying like everyone else I knew. When she was feeling up to it, Sarah and I went around town revisting our old hang outs before I finally took her to our favorite Itailian restaurant.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

"_Ryan... Ryan... RYAN!"_

"Yeah?"

"_Did you hear anything I said?"_

"No I didn't... I'm sorry I'm so distracted Sarah. I promised you to take you out to eat, and here I am

ignoring you..."

"_It's ok, I think I understand... You haven't been here since-"_

"Yeah..."

"_I don't mind repeating myself though in this case... I said that with my contract expiration coming up, I don't really have any plans, and I was wondering what yours were for after leave..."_

_Oh shit..._ "Well... I never really got assigned to a proper base, but I assume that I'll get Vandenburg. Its a huge AFB with everything a team like mine needs..."

"_Yeah... thats not what I meant though..."_

_Goddamnit..._

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

Sarah ended up moving out to San Fransico for a job opportunity, and we stayed in touch whenever I could. Being an elite Spec Ops team, and the Presidents favorite nonetheless, meant a lot of assignments on short notice. _Apparently, The President prefered to work behind the scenes._ A relationship never really took hold until the assignments stopped, which occurred at a change in the Administration. The new President was more in favor of sending diplomat after diplomat before sending... another diplomat. _Christ the guy doesn't want any grunt work done. _With more time being spent at Vandenburg, meant more time being in contact with Sarah. Surprisingly enough, throughout the years of talking and getting together once in a while, our love lives never came up.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

"Hey Sarah!"

"_Hey Ryan, whats up?"_

"Well, Hawk decided that since my "Athena" proprosal would take some time for the guys at the Pentagon to review, he "ordered" me to take the rest of the week off. Naturally first thing I thought of doing was calling you."

.

.

.

"Sarah?"

"_Yeah I'm still here..."_

"What's up?"

"_Well... You and I have been talking and hanging out for a **long** time now. Yet we never once talked about **us**."_

.

.

.

"_Ryan?"_

"Yeah... Why is that?"

"_I don't know..."_

"I... um... was there..."

.

.

.

"_No... You were the only one..."_

"...Ah"

.

.

.

"_What about you?"_

.

.

.

"No one..."

* * *

As I thought about Hawk's offer and Sarah, Hawk's personal phone rang. I ignored his conversation as I thought over the pro's and con's of being a flag-grade officer. Hawks point about my age was true, most of my original team had long since retired or moved to a less _intense_ field, and the only other one left was going to transfer to being an instructor at one of the basic camps. With the current Administration looking to maintain power through to 2024, I was almost guarenteed to have no _job_ as it were unless another war started up. _Chances of that happening are as good as us finding Atlantis..._

* * *

**(A/N):** Sorry for the cliff hanger guys! But in this case it seemed like an excellent spot so I could regroup and give you guys a break from reading pure flashbacks. To that end, here are the excerpts for the two crossovers I've had in mind for some time.

The first one here will be the Stargate/Mass Effect Crossover. I do have to mention that anyone who is interested in making this a collaboration must have extensive knowledge of the Stargate Universe (I'm talking like owning all 10 season of SG-1 and its 2 movies, etc etc). If your interested, let me know via a review!

* * *

Stargate: A New Era (working title)

Chapter 1: Discovery

In the 15 years since SG-1's inception, never did General Jack O'Neill (with two l's he always told people) thought he see the team become like it was now. With his promotion to General, Carter took over but by that point Teal'c, Daniel, and herself worked together for so long and so well that it didn't really matter who was the offical leader.

But then when the Goa'uld were effectively defeated by eradicating Anubis from the galaxy, he was promoted yet again to take over Homeworld Security, and General Landry was appointed head of the SGC. With that came Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell, who had saved SG-1's life (and incidently billions or trillions of others) in Antartica, to take over SG-1. Some how, Mitchell along with Daniel, and Teal'c found some hidden Ancient cavern in Great Britian. Led there by Vala Mal Doran, a women who used every trick in the book to get what she wanted, they ended up making contact with people of another galaxy who followed Origin.

Origin, as Daniel discovered, was a religion in which the followers believed the Ori who were ascended beings, like the Ancients of the Milky Way, were gods who gave them life, etc etc. When Daniel and Vala made contact, the Ori immediately made preparations for a crusade to convert the Milky Way to Origin.

The Free Jaffa Nation, at the time was going through some rather rough growing pains and were in no condition to fight off even more false gods. Then the emerging Lucian Alliance didn't want to make friends with Earth, so the SGC was left to find a way to beat the Ori and their followers who had vastly superior technology in their ships. If that wasn't enough, the Ori some how snuck one of their own to the 'lower' plain and she became the Orici. With the help of Merlin, an Ancient who was hidden by Morgan Lefay/Ganos Lal, Daniel was able to create a weapon that would effectively kill the Ori.

Once it was launched the Ori's followers had to be dealt with. Daniel, using hints given by Morgan, was able to find the Ark of Truth in the Ori galaxy which 'showed' the Ori followers the truth.

When it finally seemed like everything had calmed down in the Milky Way, things in Pegasus heated up. Some how, a Wraith Scientist ended up with a ZPM and made a Super Hive ship, and came for Earth. Luckily, between Atlantis being flown from Pegasus to Milky Way and a well placed nuke, that hive was taken care of.

With the entire Ancient database at Earth's disposal, their understanding of the city and Ancient tech grew ten fold. While they still lacked the capability to create more ZPM's, they were able to integrate the newest generation of Naquadah reactors and power the city.

Of course, leave it to Daniel to find the biggest mystery of all; a nine symbol gate address with no description. It was at that time that Carter got command of the DSC General Hammond and left SG-1. While Mitchell, Daniel, Teal'c, and Vala kept on going, the hunt for Carter's replacement didnt take long. Captain Jennifer Hailey, who had accompanied SG-1 several years ago, was the hands down choice.

While SG-1 continued on, and Carter went to war against the increasingly tribal Luican Alliance, the 9 symbol address had finally been answered in the most unlikely of ways. A MIT drop out had solved a complex equation written in Ancient, which allowed for an ill equipped off world team to evac to an unknown destination when the supposedly top secret base came under attack by the Lucian Alliance.

The survivors had gated to an Ancient ship thousands, maybe even millions of years old. In disrepair the ship, Destiny, was several billion lightyears away from Earth and was apparently chasing down the reason behind a structure in the background microwave radiation, or something like that. The ship and crew had been through a literal hell, and when the Pentagon came under attack by the Lucian Alliance, everything hit home. The galaxy that Destiny currently was in was home to an automated drone fleet with the mission to destroy all technology not their own. In a last ditch effort, the entire crew decided to go into stasis for 3 years and 'skip' the rest of the galaxy rather than try to take on the formidable enemy.

Now though, SG-1 was trying to find a way to establish a secure base from which the SGC could gate to Destiny and send supplies and personel. The team had gone through some rough changes though; Mitchell was still in command, with Hailey and Daniel in tow. Teal'c had gone back to Dakara, he was elected as the Free Jaffa Nations Chancellor and wanted to be involved in his new born grandson's life. Vala meanwhile was on maternity leave, since her and Daniel finally got hitched.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same..." Jack muttered as he looked out the window in the breifing room that showed the gate room in its glory.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

"So Jackson, any bets on what we'll find on this trip?" Mitchell asked as they geared up in the usual black BDU's, combat vests, and grabing P-90's along with M9's and Zat's for good measure.

"Umm... Semi-primitive civilizaton, around 15th century technology wise." Daniel guessed. The Goa'uld had repressed human development as much as they could so that they could maintain their images as gods, and now one of SG-1's standing missions was to elevate the various cultures technology at a reasonable pace.

"Damnit Jackson you said that last week!" Mitchell groaned.

"Yeah well, statictically speaking he's going to be right. The last 5 worlds we went to met the rough description." Hailey piped up, which caused Daniel to grin widely at Mitchell who rolled his eyes.

"You know what... I miss Teal'c." Mitchell said as the team made their way to the gate room. "He was always one for an excellent conversation."

"Indeed." Daniel said in as a deep a voice he could, imitaing their large friend of few words.

As SG-1 waited at the bottom of the ramp, Walter was busy calling out the chevron's engaging until finally number seven locked in and the giant water like explosion came from the gate. When it stabilized, they waited for the go signal from Walter.

Getting impaitent, Mitchell yelled at the Seargeant, "Walter whats the hold up?"

"We are getting some weird readings from the MALP, but the atmospheric conditions are in the green." Walter answered.

"Sweet, looks like you were wrong Daniel. Weird readings usually mean some kind of power source and **that** means advanced technology." Mitchell teased Daniel by slapping him on the back. Meanwhile General Landry came in the Control Room and listend to Walter's explanation of what was going on.

"SG-1, you are cleared to proceed. Just be warned though, this gate address is from the Atlantis database and is a quarter of the galaxy away. Any reinforcements will take time. I'm sending Col. Carter to the planet now just in case." Landry advised. The energy readings were that of some sort of power source, similar to that of a hyper drive, but in a completely different spectrum.

"Roger that sir, we'll call back in half an hour." Mitchell replied and went up the ramp. _Hell, if these people are friendly, then maybe we would be able to reach Destiny._

* * *

On the other side of the gate, SG-1 saw that the gate was situated in the middle of a valley with no discernable tracks around the gate.

"Well, if there is an advanced culture here they must not use the gate." Daniel said absently to no one in particular.

"Right, well we don't know if they can tell if they can detect gate activity so let's get to the top of this valley and do some scouting from there." Mitchell suggested.

What they didn't know was that the advanced culture they thought this planet was home to were vistors as well, and they _had_ detected the gate activation.

* * *

**(A/N):** Alrighty! Obviously this is only a quick excerpt I came up with before I plan anything for this fic, and am only going for the general idea here that the gate network, while it did cover a good portion of the galaxy, was almost completely destroyed by the Reapers who didn't like the idea of instantaneous travel between planets.

Again, if any one is interested in helping me with this, I would prefer it rather than working on this and The Unsung Hero at the same time.

Next up is the excerpt for the Iron Man/Mass Effect Crossover. I'm basing this off of the Iron Man movies so be warned.

* * *

Mass Effect: Forged Heros (working title)

Chapter 1: Everything dies

_Everything that has a beginning has an end._ Tony Stark, multi-billionare, genius, ladies man... Iron Man... never thought that those words would apply to him once he figured out a way past the pallidum posioning he was getting from his mini-Arc reactor in his chest. Using an element his father had designed but couldn't produce, he was able to increase the small power devices out put by several factors. Enough so that his mini-factory in his house and JARVIS, his AI/butler would have enough power to run continuosly for several years.

Now 5 years after proclaiming that he was Iron Man, as the papers dubbed the armored hero, he realized just how foolish he had been. He had fought several 'villians' if a person could call them that, but always outsmarted them and used the flaws in their tech against them. Also acting as an advisor for SHIELD he had fought some other nasty things, but always came out ahead...

He always came back to her... Now he would never be able to see her beautiful red hair or gorgous green eyes, all because he thought his tech was perfect. The nano-bots that were now swarming inside his body were shutting down every major organ and were imperivous to EMP's. Thankfully, Tony was close to a SHIELD base, and JARVIS had them prepare the only other solution to the problem...

Let the nano-bots batteries die... By putting himself in an alien cryo-stasis tube, he would remain frozen. The nano-bots, being with out power provided by the body itself would have to use their batteries to try and accomplish their goal, but with Tony's organs 'dead' they would do no more harm. The only problem was that JARVIS didn't know how long the nano-bot's batteries would last.

_Damned if you do, damned if you dont..._

As Tony took apart the Mk. VI armor that had served him so well in the past years, he realized that he would effectively disappear. "JARVIS, make sure Pepper knows whats happening..."

"Of course sir... I will be here for you when you wake up sir." The AI's voice resounded throughout the helmet before it came off. Tony handed it to the SHIELD agent next to him who put it in a safe that was across from the cryo tube. _The only left to do is to throw all I know and love away and hope some alien technology that we don't understand will save my life._

"JARVIS... Execute order 198247-Alpha..." Tony spoke.

"Sir?"

"You are to upload your personality files here to this SHIELD base, destroying your backups along with destroying anything related to the Iron Man amor, and the Arc reactor. Be sure to keep Stark Industries going, within the parameters I've given to you in file #83209375-Beta." Tony said to a small micro reciever in his watch as he stepped inside the cryo-tube.

"Anything else sir?"

"Yeah... Besure to have a cheeseburger waiting for me when I wake up."

"Of course sir, wouldn't want you to starve as soon as you unthawed."

"Thanks JARVIS... Be sure to tell Pepper to not wait for me... and that I love her."

"As you wish sir..." That was the last thing he heard as the SHEILD agent activated the cryo-tubes controls, sending the great Tony Stark to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**(A/N): **Well theres that! Not the greatest way to get Tony to 2183, but I wanted to avoid dimension jumping here like I did with ME:TUH and with the Stargate excerpt. For whatever reason, I don't like to write dimension jumpers...

Again I have to emphasize that is just a rough idea of what I have in my head for this story. If any one is interested in helping me with this one or the Stargate one let me know!

**PLEASE REVIEW! I CAN'T IMPROVE WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT NEEDS FIXING!**


	12. Ghost in the Machine

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 12: Ghost in the Machine

* * *

**A/N:** Ok guys, not gonna lie... I was expecting more reviews than the 3 or 4 Chapter 11 got. In hind sight 11 isn't my most favorite chapter now when I could have combined it with 10, but I want to try to get a chapter out every week for you guys. Also worth mentioning I will be trying my damnedest to make sure to not end on cliff hangers anymore.

There will be more background flashbacks, but none taking up whole chapters. It got boring to write and I'd like to get the main plot on the move again after this chapter which is more of relationship building one between Mitchell and Liara, but some key elements for ME1 events and beyond will come into play as well.. But don't forget what you've read thus far for background information!

Finally, with only three submissions in and with it looking like no others coming in, I'm going to close off the OC-cameo. The three I got will be incorporated into ME:TUH at a later date. When I'm ready to start writing the cameo parts I'll let the owners of the OC's know what I have in mind with a rough draft of the chapter.

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Mitchell's Quarters**

**2183**

As soon as Liara and Shepard maneuvered Mitchell into his quarters, which was an adventure in and of it self trying to navigate the large floating man around the Normandy's stairwell, they managed to gently ease him down onto his bed. As soon as they did though, Mitchell's omni-tool glowed blue as it activated.

"What the..." John muttered as a bunch of search pages came up on its display along with what looked like schematics for a REALLY big gun. The schematics though quickly minimized and John saw that the omni-tool was searching for a massive amount of early 21st Century music. He recognized the names of some 'classic' groups as they were called now: Breaking Benjamin, Linking Park, Disturbed, and even some Johnny Cash. Those were just some of the names he recognized as the list grew. Then just as soon as it started it stopped, and the search menu closed down.

John looked to Liara when the omni-tool stopped whatever it was doing, and all he saw in her face was fascination. _Ryan's subconscious mind must be looking for things he liked from his time period, it might be a coping mechanism, _Liara reasoned. _By bringing something that the mind recognizes, it can help deal with a strange and awkward situation... Which he certainly is in. _

Suddenly, a strange sound started coming from the omni-tool's speakers. John recognized it as guitar and bass chords, but Liara had never listened to human music before; much less music of the 21st Century. Shortly after the chords started, a male singers voice came on singing

(**A/N:** Feel free to play Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams as you read this segment, although there won't be any more references to it.)

"**I walk a lonely road, the only one I have ever known, don't know where it goes but its only me ****and I walk alone.**"

The words didn't make sense to Liara, but she could tell it was a melancholy song, _Perhaps its Ryan's subconsciousness trying to express itself._ John was still trying to figure out what was going on when Mitchell suddenly stirred.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

_Ungh... These flashbacks are getting to be a pain in the ass... Wait... Why do I hear Green Day playing?_ I thought to myself as I try to sort out everything I 'saw'. It was a lot of information, and I'm sure that John would be interested in my unit, my specialties, and my experience in combat situations. _That "Athena" project though, I think I still remember the schematics, unless those are for the Gauss Rifle. Probably should see where I am, but god help me if I'm in the med-bay again..._

The first thing I see when I open my eyes is the familiar blue ceiling of the Normandy, but all that tells me is that I'm not under some of the med-bay's equipment. I stretch out my legs and arms, working out some sore spots when I realize I'm on a bed... _Wait..._ I look up and see John and Liara looking down at me with different expressions on their faces; John had more of a what-the-fuck-just-happened look whereas Liara looked like she had discovered something incredible. _Well you are you, but now that you know you had a girlfriend shouldn't you back off from making any commitments? __**Why? Sarah is most likely dead, and in all likely hood she moved on when my body wasn't recovered... **__So? Its the proper thing to do in this situation, you never know what could have happened. _

_Why am I arguing with myself?_

I cleared my throat before I began to speak, "Uh... I guess I was carried down here biotically by you two?" I decided to start off easy.

"Yeah," John answered, "You freaked me out there for a bit, care to explain?"

"Honestly John I have no clue what happened there, something triggered a memory to surface." I replied back, "I do still have a little bit of a headache left though. It feels like someone set off a flash bang right by my head."

"Right... We can't have that sort of thing happening on the battlefield Ryan, you know that." John retorted.

"I know, I know. First things first though, thank you John and Liara for getting me down here, and before I talk anymore let me shut of- never mind." As I thought about shutting off the omni-tool's music player, which I have no clue how it activated, it shut it self off for me. "So how did my omni-tool start to randomly play an old song by one of my favorite groups?" I asked no one in particular.

Liara chose to speak up this time, "I believe that it may have been a coping mechanism by your subconscious to help make your integration here easier."

"Well it certainly chose the most appropriate song if that's the case." I replied

"Yeah but I'd like to know more about the schematic that showed up as well." John added with enthusiasm.

_Uh-oh..._ "Um... Hang on here let me thi-... Got it." As I thought about the "Athena" project my omni-tool glowed it's usual blue and displayed a schematic for a gun that was larger than the sniper rifles we carried on Therum. "Wow... I think I know what this is... It's the GK-8 Gauss Rifle." I thought out loud.

John whistled as the schematic popped up. "Damn... It looks like it could do some serious damage."

_Yeah..._ "John, how far are we from the Citadel?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I need to speak with an Admiral and preferably the one who is already familiar with my situation."

"That would be Admiral Hackett, and he is at Arcturus Station right now."

"How far from there are we and can I get a face to face with him?"

"Joker! What would our ETA be from Arcturus if we changed heading right now?"

"_One sec... About 3 hours Commander... Did you forget something down on Therum that you need to get a new one?_" Joker cracked, keeping true to his call sign.

"Just get us there Joker, and we are going to do the refit for the Omni-plant there as well."

"_Aye-aye Commander_."

"OK, I have to go to the Comm Room so I can contact Hackett on a secure line and see if we can get you a meeting with him. It wouldn't hurt if you took that schematic with you to the meeting as well."

"Right... We'll see about that... If its the Gauss Rifle like I remember it, then it may be considered illegal in Council Space."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, in the mean time I recommend getting cleaned up and presentable for Hackett."

While John and I were talking, I realized that Liara wasn't paying any attention to what John was saying. Her focus was on me entirely. "Right, let me know if he agrees." I said, trying to get the conversation to end between him and me so I could talk to Liara alone. Luckily John got the hint and with a smirk left my quarters.

"Well... I take it Dr. Chakwas gave you a clean bill of health Liara?" I asked as soon as John closed the door behind him.

"Huh?... Oh yes of course," She started off, "I was surprised with her knowledge of Asari physiology."

"Yeah she does good work, hell she was even able to replace Wrex's old biotic implants with new ones. I have to admit though I'm not a huge person for small talk, and I just wanted to say thanks personally for bringing me down to my quarters. You and John didn't need too."

"It was no trouble... Do you mind if I ask you something though?"

"Of course not... What did you have on your mind?" I said as I motioned for her to sit down on my desk chair while I sat up on the edge of my bed.

"What were you dreaming about? It must have been something very important to you to cause you to loose consciousness."

_Shit... How do I tell her that I remembered my one and only girlfriend I ever had along with the fact that I'm a seasoned veteran of two wars?_ "Um... a lot of it was of my military history, my training and some of the operations I went on. There was also some personal things..." Liara seemed to draw back a little. "I learned... no _remembered_ that my parents were killed when I was 18 by a drunk driver. That drove me to joining the military and from there its a lot of details that would probably bore you half to death." I said jokingly.

"I doubt that such a thing would be possible Ryan, Asari can live to be over a thousand years old."

_Riiiiiiiiiight..._ "That's not what I meant Liara, the phrase bore you half to death is a way of saying that whatever the subject matter is, its extremely boring and no one would care for it."

"Oh... I see... I am sorry for the confusion then."

"It's ok, I'm not sure if how humans speak is any different now than from the 2020's other wise I wouldn't worry too much about some things I say."

"I sincerely doubt that will be the case Ryan, from what I've seen thus far human culture is very intriguing and you are an exceptional example of that culture."

"What makes you say that?"

"Not only to do you come from a completely different era of your history, but you have in your possession two of the most remarkable things I've ever seen; your nanosuit and the Prothean Beacon's message."

"Your making it sound like you want to study me, Liara."

"What? No no no that's not what I meant! I meant that you would be an interesting person for a long term observation project... No that's not it either..." Liara said stumbling over herself.

"Take it easy Liara, I was only joking." I couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh when she didn't get the sarcasm. She seemed to relax a bit when I finished laughing. "I think I know what your getting at, and to help you out how about when we get to Arcturus I take you to get something to eat?".

Liara blushed a slight shade of violet when I made the offer, "Um.. sure... Yes, I'd like that very much." She answered with some confidence.

"Ok then, I'm sure that Admiral Hackett won't be waiting for us right when get there and who knows how long it'll take for the engineers to hook in the Omni-plant."

* * *

**Arcturus Station**

**3 hours later**

"Well... My precognitive abilities are useless," I deadpanned as John, Ash, Kaiden, and myself were waiting for the air locks decon-cycle to finish up. Wrex, Garrus and Liara were waiting behind us in the CIC's hallway, while Tali was staying busy in Engineering working on figuring out how to make the power grid of the Normandy compatible to the Omi-plant's power requirements. When I asked Tali about it while waiting to dock she started talking in what I swear was a second language. Apparently when you get any engineer talking about making one thing compatible with another they can't help but talk in tech-speak.

"I wouldn't be too worried about your precognitive abilities there LC," Ash commented, "From what I've heard Admiral Hackett likes the 'get it done the best way possible' approach. Since he's asked you to wear the nanosuit, it's probably a safe bet that your 'meeting' will take some time."

"Well... I hope not, as soon as the Omni-plant is hooked up, I'd like to get back on Saren's tail." John said as soon as the air lock cycled opened, revealing an older man with a weathered and scarred face. We all snapped a salute to the man who was escorted by two marines on either side of him.

"At ease, marines." Hackett spoke, his voice sounding a little gruff from barking out orders for years. "Glad to meet you in person Shepard, Mitchell, Alenko, and Williams. The job you four did on Eden Prime was a prime example of what a well trained squad can do."

"Thank you sir, we were just doing our jobs." Shepard answered.

"Of course Commander. Now, Mitchell or would you prefer to be called Atlas?" Hackett replied, looking directly at me. Even though I was several inches taller than the man, it seemed like his eyes were trying to bore holes through the nanosuits visor.

"Atlas, sir? What do you mean?" I asked, not remembering ever being called Atlas, either in my memories or recently.

"I'll explain more once we reach my office. In the meantime, since Arcturus station is a combined military/civilian outpost I'm ordering your crew besides the ones working on the Omni-plant to take some shore leave Shepard... And you aren't to leave until they have at least had one hour on the station themselves."

"Yes sir. Joker, tell the crew that they have shore leave, but to be ready at any time to return." Shepard spoke into his omni-tool, relaying the order from Hackett.

"That includes you, Williams and Alenko. I only want Shepard and Mitchell to accompany me."

"Aye aye sir" both of them responded with salutes.

"Make sure that Wrex, Garrus and Liara... _play_ safe..." Shepard told them as Hackett turned around and began walking away.

* * *

**Hackett's Office**

**Arcturus Station**

As soon as we entered Hackett's rather large office, I noticed that there was something resembling a chair in it. The thing looked like it was meant to form fit to a person who was relaxing on large arm chair.

Hackett must have noticed my visored face looking at the device when he said, "I see your still recovering your memories Mitchell, you seem to remember the cradle."

I didn't say anything for awhile before I said, "Sort of... It looks familiar but I don't know what it does."

"Admiral, if I may," John interrupted, clearly to get to the bottom of whats going on. "What are you planning on doing?"

Hackett took a seat behind his desk, and motioned for me to sit down in the cradle and for John to sit in a regular chair across from his desk. "As soon as I got the request from Anderson to make a history up about Mitchell here, his story reminded me of something my great great grandfather told me. He told me about a man who saved not only his ass in the line of fire, but quiet possibly the earth as well. He told me that a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force single handedly blew up the Ling Shan Ceph Mothership before it could engage its FTL comms and drive to get reinforcements. He told everyone in our family to remember the name Ryan Mitchell."

Suddenly, it dawned on me "Your related to General Hawk!"

"Correct Mitchell, Atlas was your call sign after you joined Major Barnes aka Prophet in the attempt to learn more about the Ceph on Ling Shan."

"How do you know so much about me Admiral?" I asked. "As far as Alenko could find there were no records of me ever existing at all!"

"While you saved us from the Ling Shan Ceph, there were Ceph in New York. Prophet had to give up his Nanosuit to a wounded Force Recon Marine, who went on to save the day by using the Cephs own bioweapon against them. What we now know is that while the nanosuits do in fact give the wearers increased abilities, it comes at a cost. Jacob Hargreave knew it would happen, but the nanosuits bond to the wearer to form a sort of symbiotic relationship. By using a sophisticated AI/VI hybrid, the second generation nanosuit was able to store the wearers memories, as well as retain an imprint of the individual. It was through that Force Recon Marine's memory data that General Hawk and a few others were able to figure out from Prophets memories what happened to you."

"Hold on..." I interrupted, "If my memory serves me correctly, and forgive the horrible irony behind that, if in a symbiotic relationship one of the organisms tries to leave, then both of them die."

Hackett gave me a look that could only be described as mournful. "Yes, by the time this was realized, 20 men had already been lost to the symbiosis. Subsequently the Nanosuit program was canceled as well as all contracts with Hargreave-Rasch and its subsidiaries. However, your suit is a hybrid of the first generation and the second generation. The first nanosuit used only synthetic nanobots to increase the wearer's abilities, and the second version used organic phages of some sort to accomplish the same. From what I've gather from Chakwas's results, your Nanocells as she calls them are a synthetically produced organic cell."

An idea popped into my head at that moment, "So you think that because my suit is a hybrid that's why it hasn't bonded to me yet?"

"Exactly Mitchell, now that cradle your sitting in will allow me to take a deep penetrating scan of the suit. With that we can figure out exactly what's going on that's preventing the symbiosis from occurring, as well as some other stuff as well."

Now he had my attention, "What do you mean by that sir?"

" I don't want to get your hopes up, so until the scan is complete, how about I regale you and Shepard here with your supposed non-existent files?"

* * *

**2 hours later**

**Arcturus Station**

**Civilian Section**

Since the three of them weren't Alliance personnel, Wrex, Garrus, and Liara had been _guided_ away from the Normandy and to the civilian section of the outpost. Liara didn't mind too much, it allowed her to observe how humans interacted; _Hopefully this will help me when I talk to Ryan next._ However Wrex and Garrus were about ready to tear each others throats out. Wrex would blame all Turians and Salarians for the Genophage, and Garrus would try and defend its use; It was a no win situation for the two of them. Luckily Wrex got fed up with Garrus, and turned his anger else where.

"Do these puny Alliance Marines really think they could stop me from going on rampage if I decided too?" Wrex bellowed, just loudly enough for a group of passing Marines, one of whom sported a Lieutenants bar on his fatigues. When the Lieutenant heard the comment, he stopped in his tracks and whispered a message in his Omni-tool. The various guards that were posted around the civilian section, which was designed to feel like a shopping mall, got the message that _"there may be a disturbance soon and to stay at their posts"._

Liara and Garrus were sitting at a table in the sections food court, watching all of this go down.

"Garrus..." Liara said softly

"Hmm..."

"Shouldn't we stop him from agitating the stations security personnel?" she asked, concerned about any backlash John and Ryan might incur from Wrex's actions in the next few minutes.

Garrus sighed... "Your right... We probably should, if only for John's and Ryan's sake"

While Liara and Garrus were talking, the Lieutenant had walked up to Wrex unintimidated by talking to a Krogan Battlemaster. Just as Liara has risen from her seat, the Lieutenant suddenly threw a biotically enhanced punch...

… Which didn't even phase Wrex. His head moved with the punch, but he stood in the same spot laughing loudly. The Lieutenant's squad then surrounded the ancient Krogan and prepared to fight the monster before them.

_Goddess, who in there right mind would provoke a group of soldiers into attacking simply because they are bored!_ Liara thought. She knew she could easily put the four Marines of the security detail into a biotic stasis field, but to include Wrex would tax her biotics immensely. As she began to build up enough power to do so, the fight began...

Wrex didn't move, but rather let every punch and kick hit him. It was soon evident that Wrex had formed a biotic barrier around himself, and a potent one at that. All four of the Marines were biotics, who were throwing all the energy they could into their attacks. The air was soon ripe with static electricity from the dark energy build up, but the attack didn't stop. Garrus knew he couldn't help Wrex without injuring the Marines, and saw that Liara was building up as much energy as she could. All he could do was send a message to Shepard, Mitchell, Alenko. and Williams about the problem.

Before Garrus could look back down at his omni-tool to be sure that the message had been sent, he saw out of the corner of his eye a black and sliver blur streaking towards the fight. Behind the blur were the distinctive armors of Shepard, Williams, and Alenko all of whom were sprinting after the blur.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

John and I had just met up with Ash and Kaiden when the meeting with Hackett had finished when we got Garrus's message about Wrex getting into a fight with the security personnel. Naturally I was able to cover the most ground the fastest using the suits speed mode, and within moments I saw the fight in front of me. Wrex was just standing there taking the beating, like it was nothing but a nuisance. _If he really wanted to, he could have destroyed those Marines in an instant... The idiots... _

To get to the scene as fast as I did, I had used up a lot of the suits stored energy. _Hopefully I shouldn't need to engage power or armor mode... I can't wait around for the energy to build back up..._ As I drew closer to the four Marines, I began to slow down. I didn't want to hurt them, so when I got to the closest one all I did was grab him by his armors collar and threw him flat onto his back, hoping it managed to knock the wind out of him.

When the others saw that I had joined the fray, their faces suddenly became whiter. I was a little bit taller than Wrex, who was at least half a foot taller than them. Then add in the musculature of the nanosuit with the blood red visor, and I'm sure I looked like a demon to them.

"MARINES! ATTENTION! OFFICER ON DECK!" I heard Ash shout as her, John and Kaiden finally showed up. That got their attention as their eyes immediately went to John, who with his N7 insignia and Commander stripe on his right arm commanded their attention. As such they immediately went to attention and snapped off crisp salutes to John, who didn't bother returning one.

_Uh-oh... Sucks to be them..._ I thought as I saw the look on John's face... and he wasn't happy at all.

"Now then... Do you three mind telling me why you were attacking an unarmed visitor to this station? Who is also a part of my crew AND why my partner Commander Mitchell there had to knock down your CO?" John commanded. I swear I could see and hear the three young Marines knees shaking.

"uh... Well... Sir... We were told he was making a scene, and our Lieutenant told us we better help him take care of your crew mate or he would have us court martialed for disobeying a direct order." A Marine with the stripes of a corporal answered.

John didn't look too happy with that answer, as he walked over to the Lieutenant now on the ground trying to get his breath back. "There are very few things I hate in this galaxy, and one of them are people who lead others to danger to satisfy their own personal and petty desires. Alenko, get Admiral Hackett on the line."

A few seconds later, Hacketts now familiar voice came through Kaiden's omni-tool, "Yes what is it Commander?"

"Sir, I have a Lieutenant here who assaulted one of my crew without prior provocation. I am placing him under arrest for conduct unbecoming an officer, and I would like to get your consent before I use my power as Spectre to throw him in the brig until his court martial."

"Permission granted Shepard, I'll be sure to make sure he understands how the Alliance expects its officers to behave."

"Shepard out... Well Corporal, you heard the Admiral. Help me escort this man to the brig." John ordered the corporal who was sweating bullets at this point.

Before John could take the now handcuffed Lieutenant to the brig, I took him to the side, "How do you want me to deal with Wrex? We both know he more than likely egged the guy on."

"We'll handle it later... Right now I'll take care of the lieutenant, and I want you to get back to the Normandy and get out of the nanosuit and check out the progress on the Omni-plant."

"Anything else John?" I asked as he turned away. He then stopped, took a quick look around before turning back around on his heels.

"Oh yeah, if scuttlebutt's correct I believe you owe a certain blue woman over there some dinner." He spoke quietly as he leaned forward closer to me.

"Wait... how did you find out?" I asked, shocked that he knew about my offer to Liara to get some food.

"It's a small ship Ryan, stuff like that gets around pretty quickly. Besides, I think you owe her an explanation about your... _condition_."

_Riiiiiiiiiight..._ "Yeah... I'm not sure that's completely necessary yet... I don't even know if she likes me in that way... And I have some issues with my past to resolve yet..." I replied cautiously, not sure what the situation between Sarah and I was back in 2020.

"Well... I've always found that the best way to take care of issues from your past is to talk to a good woman about them. It gets the burden off your chest, and it lets you know where they stand as well... Killing two birds with one stone essentially..." John offered his advice, which made sense really. _If you're interested in someone, but if they don't want to deal with your past wouldn't you want to know right away?_

"Thanks John, I'll let you get back to prisoner detail." I joked, "Be sure to tell him to not drop the soap!" John just shook his head, while the Lieutenant got a mortified look on his face. _Priceless..._

With John leaving, the food court held Garrus, Wrex, Liara, Kaiden, Ash, and myself. With the excitement of the fight, if it could be called that, over the stations civilians and military personnel went back to their usual routine whether it be shopping, getting some food, or just plain hanging out. As I walked over to where Garrus and Liara were, Wrex, Ash, and Kaiden followed behind me.

"Nice job Mitchell, other people would have had to cause some serious damage to get that fight to calm down." Garrus said as I got in closer to the table where he and Liara were at.

"Thanks Garrus, although I'd like to know WHY someone decided to egg those guys on..." I responded, hoping Wrex would pick up on the hint.

Thankfully he did, "I'm a Krogan... I haven't had a good fight in over a day... What do you expect me to do?"

_Wrong answer_, "That's not good enough Wrex... I'm more relaxed than John about this sort of thing. If those guys gave you a good reason for pulling what you did I'd back you up 100%, but when Garrus sent us that message, I was by a security station and caught the footage. You are a goddamned Krogan Battlemaster, I would like to think that you would know when and when not to pick a fight!" I yelled at the ancient Krogan, "If you really need to have a fight, let me know and we can spar on the Normandy. Otherwise going off on your own looking for a fight when you agreed to help with... _our current mission_" I phrased carefully, knowing that Hackett wouldn't like it if everyone got wind that John and I were hunting Saren, "I'd rather just drop you off at the next spaceport than have to deal with this kind of shit...

Thankfully it's not my call, Shepard is the commanding officer of the Normandy so it'll be up to him to decide your future with us." I finally finished my rant, which left Wrex speechless and everyone else in awe.

"Now," I continued, "Wrex if you think you can handle not getting into any more fights, you all can enjoy your shore leave. I'm heading back to the Normandy to get out of the nanosuit and check on the progress of the Omni-plant. I'll update you all when I have more information."

With everyone nodding in acknowledgment, I then turned to leave. As I began walking back to the Normandy, I began to search the stations wireless info network for a good restaurant using the nanosuits interface with my omnitool. It really makes things easier when all you have to do is think about what you want to search and not have to type it. When I found one that looked good, I then sent Liara a message telling her to meet me there in half an hour.

_Hopefully this shore leave will turn out to be a little bit of fun finally..._

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Docked at Arcturus Station**

Although I probably shouldn't have, I used the nanosuits speed mode as much as possible to get to back to the Normandy which was half way across the station. It saved me a lot of time, even with the decontamination sequence taking forever. The Normandy was almost empty save for Joker, Pressly and the engineers.

"Hey Joker, any idea how the refit is coming along?" I asked seeing how the man usually doesn't get many visitors, and he was still on the Normandy.

"Uh... Last time I checked they had gotten it tied into the power grid, but were making sure it wouldn't draw too much power from the other systems." Joker answered, surprisingly without a joke or a snarky comment. I then had a crazy idea...

"Hey Joker, how do the stealth systems work?" I asked, hoping it was the way I thought it did.

"Basically it takes the heat and radiation that's normally expelled into space and stores it in heat sinks and capacitors."

"Would it be possible then to use that stored energy in a way to supply additional power to the omni-plant or even to the kinetic barriers?"

"Yeah in theory... But you might be on to something there, I'll pass the word onto Tali and Adams. They may be able to come up with something... and here I thought you were the ultimate bad ass who just went around killing everything and then passed out. You know... The exact opposite of Superman..."

"Nice one Joker... When I learn to fly, I'll let you know but I gotta get changed."

"Yeah wouldn't want to freak everyone on the station out when you the T'Soni show up hand in hand at the best restaurant on the station..."

I ignored Joker's comment and rushed to my quarters to change. Granted I still had 25 minutes yet before I told Liara to meet me, I would prefer to be early.

* * *

**Arcturus Station**

**Ristorante di Sol**

It was a good thing I had boosted back to the Normandy, I reached the restaurant just as I saw Liara coming down from the elevator. I couldn't help but smile when I saw her step off and as soon as she saw me, she immediately blushed.

"Hey Liara, how has your visit to the station gone so far?" I asked

"Well... Besides the incident with Wrex, I was glad to be able to observe how humans interact. I hope it'll help me to become a part of the crew." She replied, with a little bit of sadness in her voice.

"Liara you already are a part of the crew. Just because your mother is working with Saren doesn't mean anything about you. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone." I told her, hoping to get her out of her sour mood. "Let's go in and get some thing to eat, I'm starving." As soon as I finished my sentence, we both heard a loud growl. Liara blushed even more than before and I realized that it was her stomach that made the noise. "Sounds like your stomach agrees with me!" I said in between small bursts of laughter. Liara caught on to what I was laughing at and giggled a little bit.

"Yes, I looked up this restaurants menu, and they have a wide selection of human, Asari and Turian dishes available."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I asked as I offered her to take my arm. She looked confused for a little bit, until I took her left arm and hooked it into my bent right arm, and we walked in together.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

After I paid the maître d' to get a private booth in the back of the restaurant, Liara and I both sat silently together looking over the menu. For levo-amino acid species they had everything humans had ever made in culinary history it seemed, then to top it off with a wide assortment of Asari dishes it was like trying to count the hairs on someones head.

Breaking the silence I spoke up, "Find anything that looks appealing to you?"

"Yes I have found a lot of Asari dishes I already like, but I'm more interested in trying something... human made for a lack of better terms. How about you?"

"Vice versa here..." She gave me an inquisitive look, _right forgot about that, _"in this situation it means that I found a lot of human dishes I like, but would like to try something Asari."

"I see, I like how humans have a phrase to describe almost any situation in a very concise manner." She commented

"I think it comes from trying to relay information as fast as possible. You can only do so much with the little bit of information you have, and if it takes a long time for someone to tell you something then your just wasting time that could be better spent doing something else."

"Yes it makes sense. We Asari tend to take time for granted, being able to live a thousand years we tend to look for the long term benefit of something and to over look the short term."

"Yeah, although just because a person will live longer than another doesn't mean that their lives will be as rich as anyone else's."

"That... is an interesting view point Ryan..."

"Hey I have an idea... How about you order your favorite Asari dish and I'll order my favorite Human dish and then we can trade?" I offered, and Liara immediately smiled.

"Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea..."

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

When our food arrived it looked absolutely delicious. I had ordered mixed meat pasta dish for Liara, and she ordered what she called Calamari Gumbo. To go with the food, I also ordered a bottle of red wine that our waitress, also an Asari, said that was sweet at first but yet had some tart to it. When she had brought the bottle, I saw on the label that it was from 2160 and made in Italy. _I wonder how much that bottle costs..._ When the waitress offered to let us have a test sip, I didn't care about how much it cost. Granted, from what I remember of my past I preferred Jack Daniels whiskey to just about anything else, this wine was by far the best thing I had ever drank. I immediately told the waitress that it would do perfectly.

As Liara and I began to eat, my mouth was exploding from all the flavor of the dish. It was simply amazing, there were no words to describe it. When I looked up she was watching me eat, and I could tell she was happy that I was enjoying her favorite food. She had yet to take a bit, apparently waiting for me to go first. When she finally took her first bite, I could tell that she enjoyed the pasta dish immensely.

We ate in silence for a little while, simply enjoying each others company and favorite food. When we finished, our waitress came out and took our plates from us, and said she would be back with a dessert menu.

_Well... It's now or never..._ "Hey Liara..."

"Yes Ryan?"

"You know with the last... episode... I had, I said that I remembered some personal things?"

"Yes... You mentioned the death of your parents..."

"What I didn't mention because I was afraid of how you would react was that before I arrived here, I had an on going relationship with a women who honestly now that I think about it looked a lot like you."

"I see... I suppose you are worried about exactly what kind of relationship you had with that woman..."

"Yes... You see, she was the only woman I had ever dated in high school, and when my parents were killed we broke up and went our separate ways. As far as I can tell though, a few years before I was sent forward in time, her and I were starting to get close again."

"You don't know anything beyond that?"

"No, the meeting with Admiral Hackett told me when I _left_, which was 2022. The memory I had recently took place in 2020."

"Ok... You are worried about what may have happened after that memory occurred and before you _left_..."

"Yes... and I am unsure as to what your feelings are for me. I understand if your interest in me was purely scientific, but if its more than that..."

"You want to know that I'll be alright no matter what we find out about your past..."

"Yes... and is it just me but isn't it odd that you seem to be finishing my thoughts for me?"

"It's a part of the melding process. Even though we didn't experience a full meld, parts of our thinking processes can bleed from one individual to another."

"Ok... I think I get that, but we can go over it later... There is something else I have to tell you... Using a device that was saved by Hackett's great-great-grandfather, we were able to take a detailed scan of the nanosuit and myself... It's a long story but to put it simply, because of the nanocells in my system, I don't know if I will ever die of natural causes."

As soon as I said that, Liara went very quiet. After more than a few agonizing seconds, she spoke up "How is that possible?"

"The nanosuit I have is prototype. The nanocells it produces are what gives me my strength, speed, and endurance. The nanocells are programmed to repair any damage to my body on any level. All the damage the a normal human would get from age would be repaired by my nanocells; even any DNA mutations would be corrected."

Liara didn't respond after that, but just looked directly at my eyes as if trying to figure out a puzzle.

"It would seem then Ryan, that if you and I are to start any kind of relationship, then we must first deal with your past," she said as she reached across the table and took a hold of my hand with a smile on her face, "_together._"

* * *

**A/N:** Alright! Finally got a chapter without a huge cliff hanger! I know you all are probably going to ask about what happened with the nanosuit cradle, and some of that will be revealed in the next chapter. We will be getting back to the main plot soon (ie Feros, Noveria, Virmire) along with the various side plots (Cerberus, BDtS dlc).

The next chapter may take me a little longer than normal to get out, I'm going to the Thunder on the Lakeshore Airshow in Manitowoc, Wi on Saturday which eats up one of my major writing days.

For those of you that are interested, I am offering my services as a beta reader! If you'd like a second set of eyes to look over your own work let me know! I'll help out with story flow, dialog, plot holes/twists, etc.

Also for those of you who want to know what Mitchell looks like, I have changed my profile picture to the face I made up for him on ME2's character creation.

As always, please review! I can't improve my writing unless you tell me whats wrong!


	13. One Small Step

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 13: One Small Step...

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the late update guys. Real life has gotten in my way recently and I haven't had time to simply sit down, crank my music, and sit at my desk for hours on end writing like I used to have. In my opinion though, this chapter, while insanely long, is most likely one of my best ones yet.

Along those lines, ME:TUH is nearing 100 reviews, and a huge shout out is three guys have written the most reviews and have been the most supportive thus far as I write ME:TUH.

Freeride600 : Be sure to check out his amazing story Chaos Effect: First Contact (.net/s/6696503/1/)

Ghost88

Super-Saiyan-3-Vegeta : He has several stories that are worth checking out not only in ME but other areas as well. Checkout his profile to see them all: (.net/u/247145/Super_Saiyan_3_Vegeta)

Also, if you would like to read a different take on a Mass Effect/Crysis crossover, check out LEGION001's story Nano Effect (.net/s/7140555/1/Nano_Effect_1). I have been helping him out with it, and it should prove to be an awesome story!

Finally, I shortend my penname from daedalusN7 to DN7, nothing earth shattering there.

*sighs deeply* glad thats taken care of now! Since you all have been so patient as I have taken you through my/Mitchell's background, you are going to get a double whammy of a chapter! The Moon mission and Feros packed into one helluva chapter! I suggest you grab something to eat and drink and make yourselves comfortable for 23,000 words of epicness and kickassery!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Arcturus Station**

**Ristorante di Sol**

**August 2183**

"_It's a long story but to put it simply, because of the nanocells in my system, I don't know if I will ever die of natural causes."_ When Liara heard those words, it felt as though her heart has skipped a beat. One of the disadvantages of being an Asari was that when one had an intimate relationship with a relatively short lived species, time spent with them was so short that every little bit was as important as their next breath. _If Ryan truly can't die from old age like Asari, then perhaps seeing where things will go with him would be worth it... After all the oldest Asari die simply because they are tired of living, for one reason or another, and simply enter a such a deep state of meditation that they essentially pass while sleeping. So no one really knows how old we can become..._

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

When Liara took a hold of my hand and said that we would deal with my past together, I couldn't help but notice how her eyes, her entire face seemed to glow slightly. My heart, which had been up in my throat, managed to glide gently back into place with relief and happiness. _After all the shit I've been __through, it seems I've finally caught a break. _As our waitress came back with the menus which were changed to display the desserts, my omni-tool suddenly decided to go off with a loud ding.

_For Christ's sake! How do I always seem to think of something and then the opposite happens!_

_ **Maybe you should try using that to your advantage once...**_

_Yeah right, like that would work... How am I arguing with myself again?_

When my omni-tool went off, I must have made a funny face because Liara suddenly was giggling to herself as was our waitress. _Great... Maybe I could quit my day job and become a stand up comedian... I wonder if those still exist... _As the omni-tool lighted up, I saw it was an urgent message from Shepard to get back to the Normandy ASAP no questions asked. I apologized to the waitress for the interruption, told her that dessert would have to wait another time, waved my omni-tool equipped hand over her data pad, depositing enough credits to cover our meal along with a generous tip, and motioned Liara to come with me offering her my arm again. Although the restaurant was a couple levels down from where the Normandy was docked, the elevator was directly across from it. As soon as we reached it, I began to explain to Liara.

"I'm sorry Liara... The message was from John, we need to get to the Normandy ASAP, something's come up and it couldn't be discussed on an open comm line. I promise, the next time we have some time at port, I'll take you for some dessert." I was inwardly hoping that she wouldn't be pissed at me since I had to cut our dinner early... _Not too mention missing out on some spectacular tasting wine..._

Thankfully she simply moved her arm in such a way that she was able to hold onto my hand, and simply said "I understand Ryan. John and you are Spectre's, you are bound to be needed at anytime."

The elevator here at Arcturus, while a little bit faster than the ones on the Citadel, was slow which gave me time to continue our banter. "Oh? And what about when I'm not needed?" I asked playfully.

Liara had at this point had simply been standing next to me, but when I asked the question, she moved right up next to me and rested the side of her head on my chest. "I would hope that when you aren't busy, that you would tell me about everything before you came here... What Earth was like, if it was any different then from now."

"I think I can do that... But I'd like something in return," I added coyly as I wrapped my arms around her.

"Oh?" She asked, picking up on how I phrased my response. Unfortunately though the elevator chose that moment to finally arrive at the floor we needed... Which revealed a very impatient looking John with Ash standing behind him with a knowing look on her face. I could feel the heat from Liara's face as she blushed, and all I could do was look as innocent as possible.

Thankfully John's demeanor changed from impatient to understanding, "Alright you two lovebirds, lets get moving. Hackett is asking us for a favor, and considering what we asked of him earlier," John gave me a nod, _right... forgot about getting an Athena prototype... _"we owe him."

"What's the favor?" Liara asked just as I opened my mouth.

"Can't talk about it here, although I will say we are going to the Moon."

* * *

**En Route to Luna**

**SSV Milwaukee PT-149**

**30 minutes later**

_Go figure... SOMEONE pushed one to many buttons and BAM! You get a computer program gone crazy... Sounds a lot like a certain Agent Smith..._ _I wonder if this whole inner monologue I got going on was 'normal' back in the day_

_**If it wasn't it could be fun now...**_

_Ok this is getting a little weird..._

While I was talking to myself it would seem, pretty much everyone from the ground team, sans Tali, was on a small patrol ship on our way to the Earth's moon, Luna. Hackett had asked John and I to go to a base on the lunar surface where a VI testing ground had an... incident. Apparently a VI in the middle of testing went hay wire, seized control of the entire complex and eradicated the entire research team and their security using some prototype defense drones.

Thankfully, since Arcturus was just a single relay jump from the Charon relay, the trip would only take about 2 hours, most of which would be getting from Charon to Luna.

The patrol ship, the Milwaukee, was just big enough to carry John, Ash, Kaiden, Garrus, Wrex, Liara, myself, and a pilot with room to walk around. It was almost as cramped as the Mako, but luckily we wouldn't have to deal with John's bad driving... for now. We had the Mako 2.0 on an external docking clamp, because apparently the VI had control of the bases AA defenses. The plan is that we will drop about 10 klicks away from the base in a small valley and proceed the rest of the way in the Mako.

"So, John... How complicated is it going to be to take down this VI?" I asked as we flew past Jupiter.

"Hackett said that all we would have to do would be to cut power couplings in each section of the base. There are 3 sections each with 8 couplings for a total of 24. Thankfully the power cables are right out in the open so a few shot gun blasts to each coupling should sever them. The hard part will be getting past the drones."

"Any idea on how tough these drones are?" Kaiden asked.

John just shook his head in response, "No, all Hackett knew was that there was a mix of rocket and heavy machine gun drones. They are all equipped with the latest kinetic barrier tech, but the drones themselves are fairly weak. Once their shields are down, it should be fairly easy to take them down."

_Hmm... Wonder what their version of a HMG is... Could prove to be useful later on... Especially considering that the HWMA X Assault Rifle I have is considered a **LIGHT **machine gun..._

"How do you want to take this facility down John? Divide and Conquer or Steamroll?" I asked seeing as everyone else was just sitting in their seats, probably going through some mental prep to get ready for the fight.

John, who was seated across from me thought about it for a moment, "Steamroll... I'd prefer to have safety in numbers on this one. According to the schematics, the base is small and cramped. We can't afford to get pinned down by these drones, especially since we don't know how many there are."

"Any other details that we need?" Ash asked.

"Yeah... The base is underground, and each of the 3 access points are guarded by two heavy defense turrets..."

Everyone, including Wrex was quiet at that bit. Thinking back to Therum, the only reason I was able to knock out the turrets I did was thanks to a LOT of luck and the element of surprise. John happened to pull up a geographical map of the area around the base, and it didn't look good. The base was on a pseudo-plateau, with only a few areas that could be traversed by the Mako. Only one of those areas was in line from the valley we're going to land in, and if this VI was smart enough, it would concentrate its defenses there.

_John's crazy driving style here may not help... Unless..._

"John... how many grenades do you have?" I asked.

* * *

**Arcturus Station**

**Same time**

Servicemen Robert Aldman had grown up around Alliance ships all his life, but he never saw a more beautiful ship than the Normandy. Unlike the other engineers though, he had some baggage. While he grew up on Alliance ships, he was an only child and lost his parents during the Blitz. They were both engineers aboard one of the few ships in orbit at the time, which were no match against the fleet the Batarians brought. After lying about his age, he got into the engineering path like his parents.

Which he wholeheartedly believed was the best thing he ever did. With the Omni-plant now hooked into the Normandy's power grid _and_ tied into the prototype reactor which would use the heat from the stealth systems heat sinks, the omni-plant was capable of making just about anything a person dreamt up as long as the required materials or enough omni-gel were available.

Now he had an hour to do as he pleased on Arcturus. It wasn't his first time at the station, so he headed straight for his favorite club for a few drinks. The station had just started its night cycle, so the club should still have a decent crowd.

As soon as he passed the Military Police checkpoint, he could tell something was off. It felt like some one was following him, but every time he turned around no one was there. He chalked it up to nerves from working so long, and turned down a service hallway to get to the club. The hallway was only partially lit since it was 'night', but Robert could still see clearly. After the door closed behind him, he stayed put, confident that if anyone was following him would have to come through the door. After waiting for a good five minutes, Robert decided that he needed to lay off the horror/suspense vids.

When he opened the door at the other end though, he got the shock of his life. Standing right in front of him was... _him!_ Same height, presumably same weight, and even the same scar on his left cheek! Before Robert could open his mouth to question his sanity, his duplicate raised a gun at him.

There was no sound to tell him that he had been shot, but Robert felt something impact his chest. Looking down he saw a dart of some sort sticking out his chest. Immediately, Robert began to feel drowsy, like he had pulled two all nighters in a row. So he decided to lie down and rest. The other him was standing over him, typing something into an omni-tool. Before Robert fell asleep though, he saw a hologram of a silver haired man in a fancy looking black suit appear before him and say,

"**Excellent... Continue with Phase 2 of the reclamation project".**

For the original Servicemen Robert Aldman, everything went dark. For his replacement though, everything became a whole lot more complicated.

* * *

**In Orbit Over Luna**

**Short time later**

Naturally there were objections to my plan, but it was the only way to destroy the turrets without risk to the Mako. While our pilot was following a set course to avoid the AA defenses, the nanosuits HUD had an icon that looked like a envelope pop up. _Huh... Guess the HUD decided to tie itself into the omni-tool._ As I opened the message, I saw that it was a chat message from Liara, who had her omni-tool on but with a privacy screen on, which would only allow a person to view it if they were looking straight at it.

_LT: Ryan, are you sure about this? This could end very badly for you..._

I looked over to Liara who was seated to my right, and her eyes told me the whole story.

_RM: There are only a few things I'm sure about any more Liara, and trust me... You wouldn't have liked what I did on Therum to get to you. This will be a cake walk compared to destroying a Geth Colossus by hand._

I knew the risks involved, and it honestly the stunt I was about to pull would seem more appropriate in a show of Jackass, which surprisingly still existed and even expanded to include aliens.

_LT: Please be careful, and not only for my sake..._

_RM: I'll do what I can_

With that Liara's omni-tool shut down, which allowed me to hold onto her hand to give it a light reassuring squeeze.

"OK, every one time for masks on!" The pilot barked over the ships PA, although he could have just turned around in his seat and yelled it down the hall. The ship basically was a flying APC with the ability to carry an all-terrain tank after all. John, Ash, Kaiden, and Liara all had an easy time getting their helmets on, sealed, and checked. Wrex and Garrus on the other hand, needed some help ensuring that they were sealed properly. Once everyone was ready to go, I grabbed a grenade bandolier and attached as many grenades as possible to the thing in preparation and stepped into the airlock.

"Airlock decompression beginning... Warning... Exiting a moving craft is not advisable" The Milwaukee's VI informed me, _Yeah yeah shut up I've jumped out of hundreds of perfectly good planes before, this wont be any different._ "Decompression Complete, opening outer air lock door" As the door opened, I could see the land scape of the moon rushing by. Granted I was over a mile above its surface, it still seemed really damn close.

"You guys should see the view... It's amazing..." I radioed to the rest of the team.

"_I'll bet Ryan... Drop on my mark..." _I heard John reply, _"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... GO!"_ Without a second thought I pushed myself out the airlock as hard as I could. With the location of the turrets being highlighted on my HUD, I began using the momentum the shuttle gave me and the suits hydro-thrusters (normally for use underwater, but could be used for EVA's in space) I was able to get a ballistic path set up right over the turrets.

The thinking behind this stunt was that the targeting software of the defense turrets wouldn't be able to pick up a target as small as a person until a certain range. The turrets, which were apparently experimental GUARDIAN defense turrets, essentially were over powered lasers designed to take out any 'land' invasion forces as well as function as AA. There was no way I could risk letting every one in the Mako getting killed from a damn laser beam, so I came up with this alternative: throw myself out of the ship and set up for a human bombing run. _Too bad I don't have a grenade launcher... Would have made this a helluva lot easier..._ I thought as I switched the suit over to strength mode.

A few seconds later, I was in range to throw the remote controlled grenades. Normally they were set up with a proximity fuse, but John disabled that and showed me how to detonate them remotely, allowing me to land first without having to worry about missing a throw. As I grabbed a grenade and brought my arm back, the HUD showed its predicted path which then zoomed in on the turrets themselves. I waited until the path lined directly over the barrel... when it did, I threw the disc shaped explosive hard enough to make a major league pitcher think he was back in little league.

However, I didn't have time to see if my throw was accurate or not. The lunar surface was getting closer by the second, and I still had 5 more turrets to take care of. Not wasting time I grabbed another grenade and began to throw them as fast and as accurately as I could at the turrets. By the time I was done, I was actually falling with my back facing the ground since I had to reorient my self to throw the last grenade. Thankfully though, I managed to pass right out side of the turrets detection range...

But now I couldn't tell where I would hit... As I maneuvered back around using the hydro-thrusters I saw something I didn't want to see... The valley where the Mako had just landed! I over shot my original landing zone due to the extra power from throwing the grenades!

_Fuck inertia and Newton's laws!_

_Ok... Don't panic... If your this far off, you should be able to detonate the grenades safely..._

_**Yeah but what about landing? **_

_One thing at a time! The team comes first!_

As I reached towards the small device that John gave me to detonate the grenades, I realized something... _BIOTICS! Over half the team is biotic and they can bring me down!_

_**PRESS THE DAMN BUTTON!**_

As I did, I couldn't tell if the grenades went off, but for the moment I couldn't care. "GUYS!" I yelled over the radio, right before a massive shock wave threw me faster... Which caused the suit to calculate the new point of impact...

**Warning: Deep space**

Followed by

**Warning: Hydro-thrusters nozzles frozen**

_Fucking PERFECT!_

"_RYAN! I think you took out the turrets! You caused a huge secondary explosion!"_ I heard John yell back over the radio.

"Yeah great, but I need some help! The shock wave threw me off, and if I don't get some help I'll wind up like you guys found me!"

"_What did you have in mind?" _

"I need you to use your biotics to bring me down!"

"_Roger that... We got you visually, hold on..."_

"Easy for you to say..." I muttered. I was only a quarter of the way across the valley at this point, but it would take time for them to focus their energy and bring me down... Unless... _Goddamnit..._

I suddenly felt a **massive **change in gravity and I was yanked down ward out of control. As I spun, I could see that someone created a singularity below and behind me... and I was heading right towards it! I could feel the suit trying to compensate for the different gravitational influences and losing... It's integrity was dropping fast... Suddenly the singularity disappeared, although I was still falling in the direction it was in. At least_ I'm falling towards the Mako now... I can see three people standing out side it... I hope to god they don't us-_

I wasn't able to finish my thought as I suddenly felt the familiar feeling from when John biotically pushed me down the stairs in the Normandy, except instead of backwards it was down. With the moon's surface rushing to meet me, I engaged armor mode to help lessen the impact.

Except there was none, I stopped inches above the ground. _Huh... Thats convie_-_** THUD.**_

"Ungh..." I groaned... Content to lie there for the time being. The next thing I knew the ground rumbled as the Mako drew closer...

"Come on Mitchell! Let's go! We got shit to blow up!" I heard Wrex yell over the Mako's bull horn, and why the Mako has one I have no clue...

"Yeah yeah yeah... Give me a minute!" I yelled back. "I appreciate the help and all, but you could have given me some warning before you just dropped me on my face."

I heard John's laughter, "Well it was that or flying off into deep space, so I think you got off easy."

"Whatever... Whoever launched the singularity though showed me something." I mentioned as I got up and walked over to the side hatch.

"What's that?" Garrus asked.

"The nanosuit is vulnerable to biotics." I stated simply, as the hatch swung open revealing John at the wheel, Kaiden as navigator, and Garrus as the gunner. Wrex was sitting in the heavy duty seat at the back of the Mako, while Ash and Liara were sitting opposite each other behind the nav and gun stations. Naturally I sat next to Liara as I closed the hatch and John took us to the base.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

Once we got inside the bases perimeter, I could finally see my handy work. All of the grenades had either landed near the barrels of the turrets or on the plasma feeds, which is what caused the huge secondary explosion.

"Well... I'm glad we're getting paid to wreck all this equipment..." I deadpanned as we all moved our way to the closest access point. John had parked the Mako about 100 meters away, something about standard operation procedure.

"We aren't getting paid, Ryan. Remember this was a favor." John replied.

"Damn... At least we don't have to worry about collateral damage..." I said, at which point John just shook his head.

Thankfully the plasma explosion didn't damage the door controls, and we were able to get into the first air lock with ease. Once the pressurization cycle finished, everyone but me took off their helmets. Ash stepped forward in an effort to get out of the cramped airlock, but John held up his hand holding her back. He was checking his omni-tool, _most likely scanning for threats._ My own scanner turned up nothing in the hallway ahead or the room after it. _Definitely glad I managed to download the layout into my omni-tool. Seems like what ever the omni-tool can do, the suit is able to access it via thought._ John lowered his arm a moment later, and opened the door which led into a short hallway. Not stopping he continued on through to the next room, which was set up like a mix between a storage room and research lab. There was only one other door besides the one we just came from, but John took his time to look around the room, searching for something.

During this time, another message notification popped up on the HUD. Naturally I opened it right away.

_LT: I am unsure of what Shepard is doing. Do you know?_

_RM: I would assume that he is looking for research notes, anything that would help figure out exactly what happened here._

_LT: That makes sense... I am concerned about fighting these drones though... I am only proficient in using a pistol._

_RM: That's why almost every one is here. This is almost the perfectly balanced squad. Ash, myself, and John are basically pure soldiers. Kaiden and you are biotic support, and Garrus is our distance guy. Wrex is just our ace in the hole for in case anything gets really nasty._

_There was a pause for a moment as Liara digested what I said._

_LT: That does make sense I suppose_

Before I could send a reply, John finished checking out the room. "Alright people, presumably the drones are in the next room. I'm reading roughly 20 power signatures in the room after the next hallway and they are currently not doing anything. Here's what we are going to do; Based on the plans given to us by Hackett, we are going to create one helluva crossfire. Ryan and Wrex I want you guys to go in loud immediately and split up here." John pointed to a spot on his omni-tools display that showed several pillars in a row in the plans that would help create a bottneck. "Once you feel the heat, fall back to the door. Ash and Kaiden will watch one side while Liara and I watch the other. Garrus you'll be our long range support. With any luck this will be a cakewalk and the drones will split up to go after Ryan and Wrex at which point the rest of us will be able to knock them down in a bottle neck."

Everyone nodded their head in agreement, while Wrex huffed, "Hmpf... Been too long since our last fight..." as he and I moved forward to take point. He handed me my shotgun, which he was holding onto for me on his armors spare magnetic rack. I gave it the once over, checked to make sure the Carnage shot was working properly, and stepped forward towards the door...

… Only for Wrex and I to bump into the frame as we both tried to go through at the same time. _Go fucking figure..._ I heard everyone behind us laugh a little bit, barely enough for the squad comms to pick it up.

"You know Wrex, I heard that when a Krogan Battlemaster gets laughed at he has to defend his title the only way possible..." I said loudly with a hint of sarcasm.

Wrex picked up on what I was doing and replied, "Then you heard correct Mitchell. I haven't had to do such a thing in a long time, and I'm aching to rip something to shreds"

One second of awkward silence later, I went through the door first with Wrex following. Again there was a short hallway between the two rooms, which was barely comfortable as everyone geared up. John and Ash had their shotguns out as well, Kaiden and Liara had pistols ready while Garrus got his sniper ready. I looked back at Wrex, gave him a nod, then looked at John. He held five fingers up and brought them down one by one... 3... 2... 1...

I power kicked the door down, draining only fraction of my energy and immediately switched to armor mode. I went left of the pillars, which had numerous crates stacked between them creating an artificial wall while Wrex went right. We both ended up getting on the other side of the wall at the same time. The drones, it seemed, were still powering up and were just sitting there doing nothing. That entire side of the room was empty, like it was simply a storage area for the drones. Rather than wait, Wrex and I both began to pump as many shot gun rounds into the drones. Apparently the Alliance was looking for function over form as the drones looked like they simply took the basic guns, added some armor around the firing mechanisms and attached them to tripods. The rocket versions looked like they would do more damage so thats where I focused my efforts, where as Wrex shot at whatever was closest.

In the 10 seconds since we had 'breached' the room, I had tagged 3 drones with 3 shots, while Wrex got 4 with 2 regular shots and a Carnage shot. _Showoff..._ When I let another blast loose, the drone I was aiming for didn't go down as the shields shimmered into existence and blocked the shot entirely. _Well... now it gets interesting... _As the drones began to target Wrex and I, I saw Wrex flash blue using his biotics to create a barrier in addition to his shields. Neither of us decided to move and continued to blast the living daylights out of the machines. Now it took 3 blasts to take one down, or one Carnage shot, thanks to their shields.

25 seconds in since breaching, Wrex hadn't moved a single inch while I had to dive and roll my way out of a rockets path 3 times now. Unfortunately the suit was quickly losing power, I was already down to 30% energy and the shrapnel from the rockets took off quite a bit of the integrity. Out of the 20 drones there were to begin with, Wrex and I brought it down by 13 leaving 4 rocket drones and 3 HMG's. After ducking another rocket which exploded behind me, the splash draining even more of my energy and integrity, I began to move back behind the pillars hoping the rest of the team was ready. Not turning my back I kept firing at the drones to lure them back, and saw Wrex doing the same. Once I was a few inches behind the left most pillar, I immediately put my back to it, hoping that being point blank would severely damage the drones shields. While I wasn't worried about the HMG's doing damage, with everyone else at the door, one lucky shot from a rocket would hurt if not kill them all.

The drones apparently decided to split up, with the rockets coming after me and the HMG's going after Wrex. As soon as I saw the first come past the pillar, I got my shotgun as close to it as possible and let loose. The close up shot combined with fire from Ash and Kaiden took the first one out, but the second was right behind it. The rocket it launched blew the shotgun out of my hand, and instinctively I punched the loading chamber. Without strength mode engaged, I left a dent in the armor but the pain in my hand told me I probably broke a bone or two. With the loading chamber dented the next rocket the drone tried to launch ignited inside the barrel but wouldn't budge. As such, it burned out the back end of the mount and destroyed itself. _Talk about dumb luck..._

I was ready to take out the next two using strength mode, but suddenly I saw a shower of sparks come from the other side of the pillar. _Well what the fuck?_ I took a quick look over to the rest of the team and both Kaiden and Garrus had their omnitools out and glowing. _Wonder what the hell they did to do that... Oh well..._ Right as I turned back around, the last rocket drone came around the corner and instead of targeting the larger group of threats, it turned and aimed right at me...

"Godda-" was all I got out before a rocket rated to take down medium sized armored vehicles hit me from less than two feet away. Thankfully, the rocket didn't detonate its payload (**A/N:** It's my understanding in infantry level explosives such as under barrel grenades, LAW's etc etc the fuses are wired in such a way that its impossible for the explosive device to explode until its traveled a certain time away from its launcher) and hit me with enough force to send me flying into Wrex 20 feet behind me.

**Warning... Suit Integrity Critical... Warning... Suit Energy Level Critical... **

With the suits AI/VI telling me the obvious, and my breath knocked out of me by the impact, it was nearly impossible to draw another one. Every time I did, there was a sharp pain right where the rocket impacted.

**Warning... Severe User Body Damage... 4 Cracked Ribs and Sternum... Emergency Nanocell Production In Progress...**

As soon as the suit told me that, I immediately felt the area where I was hit getting warmer and didn't hurt as much. _Must be applying a local anesthetic... _In the few seconds that passed by since I was hit, the gunfire stopped, and I saw John and Liara looking over me.

"Damnit, Ryan. You gotta stop doing stunts like that!" John yelled, although it was fairly obvious he was angry at the situation and not at me.

"Heh... Somebody has too, might as well be me." I replied, the effort causing some discomfort as I sat up. "Sorry about that Wrex. I assume your ok, since your basically a walking mountain."

"Mmm... Don't worry about it..." is all Wrex grunted.

"Right... You know John... We could make some serious money from my antics. If you guys would have some helmet cams or something, we could send them into who ever is the head of that show Jackass now." I deadpanned as I stood up.

"Woah! Hangon Ryan!" John warned, "my scans show you have a busted... um... middle finger..." Ash and Kaiden couldn't help but let out a laugh at that one, "as well as 4 busted ribs including your sternum."

"I'll be fine John. The suit has already given me an emergency dose of the nanocells which are working on it." I assured him. Both John and Liara didn't look so convinced.

"I don't care, your hanging back on the next section until my scans say otherwise."

"Fine," I grumbled, "But where the hell did my shotgun end up?" I asked no one in particular.

"I got it here L.C.," I heard Ash say. As I turned to face her, she held it out to me. "Damn thing doesn't have a scratch on it. Who would have thought that Spectre gear would be so"

"Superior?" Garrus finished, folding down his sniper rifle and putting it on his back. Ash just shot him a look that could kill and didn't say anything.

Taking the shotgun back in my hands, I led the way to the back of the room and off to where the power conduits were. Once I reached the door though, I swear I could smell something rotten.

When the door cycled open, my eyes were met with absolute gore. Lying on the floor face down were 10 bodies in varying degrees of dismemberment. With blood and guts spread all over the floor, walls, and ceiling, it took all of my training to not want to throw up. I held my hand up in a fist, to stop the rest of the team from seeing what lay in the hall.

"If anyone has a weak stomach, I suggest that they wait out here..." I said over the squad comms. John came right up to see what I was talking about.

"_God damn..._"

Wrex decided to come take a look as well, "Huh... didn't know you humans had that much blood." _Great one Wrex, very tactful._ If I didn't have my visor in place I would have given Wrex a shut-the-fuck-up stare.

"We'll call Hackett when we are done and let him know..." John said somberly, "For now we gotta shut this damn thing down before anyone else gets hurt."

Only John, Wrex, and myself went ahead to shoot out the power cables in the next room. It seemed like the room was set up as a monitoring station and armory, so naturally John looked around the various terminals while Wrex and I worked on the cables.

"Find anything useful?" I asked as I shot out the last cable.

"Found some interesting mods we could use for our gear, but nothing else. Lets get on to the other two sections so we can get out of here." As soon as he said that, a blue barrier turned up in front of the door leading out.

"Commander, it seems the VI is trying to slow us down by putting up kinetic barriers." Garrus informed us via comms.

"Roger that Garrus, we'll just have to bust-"

"Or walk through them." I finished for John.

John shook his head at me, "If you ever figure out how to replicate that damn suit, I'm SOO going to beat your ass down."

"Yeah yeah, we'll see..." I laughed, "Let's get out of here."

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

About an hour and lots of scrap metal later, we all were sitting on top of the Mako on the lunar surface looking at the Earth. The North America Continent was smack dab in the center.

_There's home... Somewhere down there, everyone I ever knew is buried and forgotten, and here I am on the moon 171 years in the future for godsakes! How in hell did I get here, and now that I think about it, why did Nihlus recommend me for the Spectres as well? It just seems like the more I learn about my past the more questions keep popping up for the here and now..._

_**There's only one thing you can do... Deal with what's in front of you and move on... Everything will work out in the end...**_

_Ok... Good advice, but I hope to God I'm not going insane..._

_**Your not... Yet anyway...**_

_Thanks... _

"How did a planet that is mostly water support your entire species until you discovered mass effect drives?" Garrus asked over squad comms as everyone took in the sight before them.

"It's wasn't easy..." John answered. "There were a lot of wars over land and resources, one of which helped to somewhat unify everyone in the early 2000's..."

"You mean the 1000 Day's War Shepard?" Kaiden asked to which John nodded.

"Not to put anyone in the spotlight here, but we have a veteran of that particular conflict _and_ the one the proceeded it." he said, at which everyone turned and looked at me.

"Thanks John..." _Time to go into story mode I guess_ "Well, the last time I went unconscious I ended up getting an important portion of my memory back. The 1000 Day's War, or KDW for short, was a war of desperation by one of the major powers to try and get as much natural resources and land under their control."

Of course Wrex perked up, and asked, "What did you do? I can't imagine what a suit like yours could have done almost two centuries ago."

I laughed, "For the KDW, I was a fresh graduate of the Special Tactics Squad class 392. STS was the training ground for the then United States Air Force, where they trained their Special Operations groups for different circumstances. When I graduated, I was the best Para-rescuer and Combat Control Technician in the entire US Air Force." As I looked around, everyone was just looking at me like I was speaking a foreign language. "Basically, I was trained to go behind enemy lines, retrieve a valuable target, and get out using any means necessary. I also was trained to work with other branches of the military to be able to call in either air strikes or orbital strikes."

"So basically, you were your centuries equivalent of an N7 infiltrator" Ash surmised.

"Exactly. While I don't remember much about the wars themselves yet, I do know for the KDW I didn't have the nanosuit." The _Milwaukee_ chose that exact moment to come in for its landing, so I didn't have to answer any more questions. "Well, guys and gals, lets get back to the Normandy shall we?"

* * *

**Arcturus Station**

**A few hours later**

With the Omni-plant hooked up and ready to go, and all crew accounted for Hackett called John and I up to his office again.

"Gentleman, before you go I just wanted to say thanks for taking care of that VI situation."

"No problem Admiral, if you have anything else that we can help out with let us know" John replied.

"Of course, but I can't keep interfering with your current mission. To that end, I believe this should help you bring some extra firepower to the battlefield." As he said that, an aide came in with a crate that was probably 5'x2'x2'. "Go ahead and open it Mitchell." Hackett beckoned.

I got up from my seat and slowly walked over to it. "You know the damn thing amount modern weapons? They don't have much for stopping power, tiny shards traveling at hypersonic speeds sounds impressive but if you need something taken down in one shot you either need a shot gun or a sniper rifle. Or in extreme cases a tank" Hackett commented before I opened it. "The Athena Mk. I takes the rapid fire ability of a semi-auto assault rifle, but packs the punch of a tank round with out the recoil. By using foot long bolts of any magnetically charged metal and accelerating them past Mach 40, you can deal death at any range. There is enough kinetic energy behind the bolts that only a ships barriers could fully block it."

* * *

(**A/N:** Just a quick reference here, super sonic is anything that travels just over the speed of sound and hypersonic is anything traveling over Mach 10. Also, according to the Cysis Wiki, the GK-8 Gauss Rifle fires its slugs at 10,000 meters per second. That translates to Mach 29 roughly. While no size is given for the GK-8s bolt size, guess-timating from various screen shots in game woul suggest the clip size to be maybe 4 or 5 inches wide. Since the Athena Mk. 1 is an improvement upon the GK-8, it would make sense that it fire bigger bolts, faster.)

* * *

When I opened the crate, the gun looked exactly like I had envisioned it, shorter and stockier than the GK8 Gauss Rifle with a larger ammo magazine. "Why hasn't something like this been developed yet?" I asked.

"Simple math. Why have a limited magazine when you can have unlimited ammo at the cost of stopping power? The ingenious part of your design is the fact that it doesn't use any mass effect tech, which is how it doesn't have any recoil. Using highly refined super conducting materials compressed by mass effect fields, magnetic fields strong enough to kill a person are channeled to accelerating a bolt. Powered by the latest in mirco-fusion power modules, you only have to worry about ammo. Although if you run out of ammo on a mission, chances are you should have called in an orbital strike. " Hackett explained.

Something clicked in my head, _why would an Admiral be explaining all of this to us? Wouldn't the project lead be better?_

"Thanks Admiral," I said, "but something tells me that I owe you for more than that"

John looked at me quizzically, where as Hackett looked like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. After the shock wore off, Hackett chuckled, "My great great-grandfather left a video message for everyone in my family to watch when they came into a flag rank position in the military. He suspected based on telemetry that was gathered as the Ling Shan Ceph Mothership left Earth's Orbit that the Ceph used artificially created wormholes for FTL travel. Since you were wreaking havoc on the ships systems, he guessed that the wormhole the Ceph were trying to create was unstable based on the amount of radiation there was. When tachyons were discovered in the radiation readings, he had a hunch that the wormhole managed to connect to a different time period, although he didn't know when."

"So your family has been on the lookout for me ever since..." I managed to get out, _Time travel through wormholes? Well... I guess thats as believable as a race of sentient starships wiping out all life in the galaxy every 50,000 years..._

_**True story...**_

_What?_

"Exactly... When I learned that you had saved Nihlus, I had a chat with him before the Council meeting. I told him of your circumstances, and gave him a copy of your profile. Surprisingly he believed me, and forwarded his opinion to the Council. Apparently that was enough to convince them, although I wouldn't be surprised if they start their own little investigation into you and that suit."

"But that doesn't explain why I'm suddenly a flag rank officer in this military when I was just an enlisted man back then. I don't mind, but I'd like an explanation." I countered.

"Let's just say that General Hawk felt like he owed you. It also helps when 75% of the Alliance Admiralty board wants to help keep the nanosuit in human hands. They all feel that the United States military was too harsh by completely eliminating all records and materials about the nanosuits. As such, by making you a Lt. Com., your more 'sensitive' files are afforded extra security. That was also the reasoning behind the Spectres, any information on you in the Council systems are blocked and only the Councilors and other Spectres can review it."

I had to take a minute to digest all of that... _It seems that I will be a hunted man in the near future... _"All this because Hawk felt like he owed me? I knew he respected me and all that jazz but damn... I feel guilty now..." I muttered...

Suddenly, Hacketts omni-tool pinged. As he read the message, he got a fire in his eyes. "Well, your going to have to deal with it for now. We just received a distress call from our colony on Feros, they are under Geth attack."

John immediately activated his omni-tool, "Joker! Get ready for immediate departure!"

"_Aye-aye Commander, where to?"_

"Feros"

* * *

**En route to Feros, Attican Beta Cluster, Theseus System**

**Normandy SR-1**

As soon as John and I had got back to the Normandy after sprinting the whole way there, Joker immediately took off, thanks to Hackett clearing the surrounding space so we could make a quick exit.

"It's going to take three relay jumps, Commanders. ETA is going to be roughly 7 hours. By the way Mitchell, what's in the case? You didn't have to bring me a present for being the best pilot in the galaxy you know" Joker cracked as John walked away to go check in with Pressly down by the galaxy map.

"Well in that case then I'll keep my porn collection for myself then..." I retorted as I walked out from the cockpit.

"What! Hold on now maybe we can work out a deal! I mean after all you do have Liara..."

"oy..." I sighed and turned around, "It's not like that Joker... After I take this down to Ash I'll come back up and explain it to you..."

"Alright sounds good. No offense to Shepard, but when its only him that comes up here it gets a little boring."

"I heard that Joker! No more coffee runs from me!" John yelled from back by Pressly, who was laughing his head off.

"Aww crap... Talk to you later Mitchell."

"Later Joker..."

As I worked my way to the back of the ship, I reminded myself of how handy the GK-8 Gauss Rifle had been, but now that the Athena Mk. 1 had been upgraded beyond what I had originally envisioned, it could almost be considered a weapon of mass destruction when tied into the nanosuits targeting systems.

Before I knew it I was down in the cargo bay, Garrus was dutifully working on the Mako, Ash was at the work desk, and Wrex was standing around doing nothing. _Don't these people ever do anything else? _ As I looked past Wrex I saw one of the weirdest machines ever. It looked like a giant slab with a set of four robotic arms at each corner with some sort of manipulator/injector on the ends. As I walked closer to it, the holographic display came up and told me what it was, the omni-plant. _Sweet... Now I can finally get to work on adding a few key things to the suit. _I walked briskly over to Ash, giving Wrex a small nod which he surprisingly returned, and set the large case down on the end of the table she wasn't working on.

"Whoa there L.C., what do you have there? A rocket launcher?" She asked.

"Not quite, something better..." I said smirking as I opened up the case and took out the Athena. "This is an upgraded version of the rail gun I designed back in the day, the Athena Mk. I. This is what Hackett had made for us when we took care of the lunar base."

Ash's eyes were wide in shock. The AM-1 as I was going to call it from now on, was something else. It wasn't sleek or compact, but it had that vital intimidation factor for the battlefield. "I've never seen anything like this before. You'll have to give me the schematics so I can learn how to take care of it L.C."

I then heard what I thought was a whistle, and suddenly Wrex and Garrus are standing behind me looking at the AM-1.

"That's one helluva big gun there Mitchell... Sure you can handle it?" Wrex asked.

"Yeah that thing looks like it belongs on the Mako..." Garrus added... _Actually... Thats an excellent idea! _As I stared over at the Mako lost in thought, more time passed than I realized "Um... I think I broke him..." I heard Garrus say.

"Huh?... No you didn't but you gave me a killer idea Garrus. Just gotta work out the details." I said quickly as Garrus broke my trance

"Greaat... Something tells me I'm going to have more calibrations to do..." He muttered and went back to the Mako.

"You'll enjoy it Garrus I promise, you too Wrex. This baby will be able to kill a Krogan in one shot." I said patting the AM-1 lovingly.

"BAH!" Wrex spat, "Good luck with that! I won't believe it until I see it!" and he turned around and went back to his spot. I put the AM-1 back in its case, and left it there for Ash to put away in a safe spot. After sending the schematics to her omni-tool, I went over to check out the omni-plant. When the display came up, it listed several options: scan, model, create, and modify. _Straight forward enough..._ At that moment, my omni-tool pinged, and checking it revealed I had a message from John's friend Alexi.

_**To: Lt. Com. R. Mitchell**_

_**From: Alexi**_

_**I heard from a friend on Arcturus station that you finally got my life's work set up, in addition to a new type of reactor that runs off the heat stored in the Normandy's heat sinks. Well done. Now, to be able to replicate or modify your current suit, my machine will need a detailed scan of it which it can do on its own. If you have any other previous scans or data, adding it to the plant's database will only increase its accuracy. Once you have the base scan done, I ask that you would send a copy to me as well so I can see what I can do on my end. If the plant gives you any trouble let me know.**_

_**Alexi**_

_Well then... Lets get started shall we?_ I quickly ran up to my quarters, grabbed the nanosuit and hauled it down stairs with some help from Kaiden. Once we assembled it on the omni-plant's table, Kaiden added in his previous data and I added the deep scan Hackett took while on Arcturus, which he gave to me on an OSD right before we left. With that data inputted, the machine began its scan of the suit, estimating it would take 3 hours to scan, and an additional 6 to recreate digitally to review. After thanking Kaiden, I went back up to Joker like I promised with a mug of coffee.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

After having talked to Joker for a good 2 hours about our respective love lives, his brittle bones, flying the Normandy, wearing the Nanosuit, how amnesia can be a bitch and how that crate I had wasn't actually porn but a rifle that even he could fire since there was no recoil, I decided to go make the rounds after grabbing a bite to eat, the crew had just shift changed into the night crew and the evening meal was still being served.

Luckily after I grabbed the plate of food, which after 170 years still looked like the same stuff I got at Vandenburg, I spotted Kaiden sitting and reading something on a data pad.

"Hey Kaiden, anyone sitting here?" I asked gesturing to the seat across from him.

"No go right ahead Mitchell."

"What are you reading?" I asked as I began to stab the mystery meat with a fork and knife.

"Ash transferred the specs for that AM-1 rifle you brought aboard. Hard to believe that the thing doesn't have a scrap of mass effect tech in it."

"It's something isn't it? Although I'm pretty sure those super conducting materials were made using mass effect fields. There's no way that there is a naturally occurring substance that has enough Gauss to induce that great of a magnetic field unless they were super condensed as well."

"Huh, makes sense on a conceptual level... Hard to believe that you designed this thing back in 2020 though."

After finishing chewing the rubbery meat, I responded, "The original was never finished, and this version was only based off of the original. Funny thing is that I wasn't able to get the backing of the Pentagon to fund the project."

"Gotta love politics of all sorts... Hey do you mind if I ask you something?" Kaiden asked in a whisper.

"Technically you just did but go ahead," I replied with a smirk.

"What?... Oh... Right... Anyway I wanted to know what the deal with you and Liara is." He asked with a dead set look in his eye.

After wiping my mouth with a napkin, I said "Well... Until I know more about my past, her and I aren't what I guess you would say an official couple, but we both expressed interest in each other. Why do you ask?"

Kaiden looked relieved, which caused me to raise my eyebrow a bit. "Well, remember when I tried looking you up in the Alliance database? I ran a DNA scan to see if you had any previous records. That didn't turn up anything partially because of interference from the nanocells in your blood. In between our missions, Chakwas and I have been working on isolating a pure blood sample to analyze as well as opening up the search parameters to next of kin..."

Now he had me intrigued, "What did you find?"

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

_Well this is going to be awkward..._ Which was what I was thinking as I made my way down to the cargo bay. When Kaiden had given me the data pad to look for myself, I couldn't believe what I was reading.

_Gotta check with her to see for sure..._

As I stepped out of the elevator I saw John walk back to Engineering presumably to talk to Tali.

_Alright, all or nothing here we go..._

I walked over to Ash who was busy with the extra net terminal that was at the table. When I got close enough I could hear an audio message being played.

"_**By the way sis, we saw Commanders Shepard and Mitchell on the news... They're cuuute! Later sis!"**_

_This CAN NOT BE HAPPENING TO ME! _I screamed in my head. Ash must have heard me approach since she turned around right as the message finished. If her face could turn any redder I swear she would have been a stop light.

"PLEASE tell me you didn't hear that..." Ash pleaded.

"Sorry Ash, I did..." I answered.

"Gotta love family... That was Sarah, my youngest sister. Something tells me you didn't come down here to talk about family though."

"Actually I kind of did... What do you know about your ancestry Ash?" I asked, trying to ease her into it.

"Well, only my mother knows beyond my grandfathers. Although one of the stories my great grandad on my dad's side would mention was how his mother was in the service and so was the love of her life. When a war came though, they never saw each other again after what was supposed to be his last assignment. The story went that the brass came and told her that the man she loved never existed but she knew in her heart he did. She found out that she was pregnant with his child, my great-grandfather, and vowed to keep his name alive. While I don't remember the details, I believe that the Williams' legacy of being in the military started there." She paused and let me digest the information for a bit. "Why do you ask L.C.?"

"Well Ash, I don't know the whole story yet from my perspective, but Kaiden found out I have descendants. The thing is though that I only remember one woman in my life before I arrived here in 2183, and I only know her name was Sarah."

"Wait... In every generation on my dad's side, one girl was always named Sarah in remembrance of my great-great-grandmother. Are you telling me that you're the man who disappeared in my great-grandfather's story!" At this point I couldn't tell if Ash was pissed off, confused, or both.

"What I'm telling you is that Kaiden did a DNA match, and according to it you are my great-great-granddaughter." I said flat out and handing her the datapad Kaiden gave me. "The DNA test can't lie, and I don't remember enough yet to know what happened between us. Hell I don't know if her and I got married!" Ash calmed down a bit and took the datapad from me and looked it over.

"Hmm... Well... It would seem that science has proven its worth once again. I can't help but wonder though if you got a little help from upstairs in your trip to get here." Ash said, calming down a bit.

"Well... Considering what I apparently through to get here it would certainly seem that way." I replied. Ash seemed a little shocked when I said that.

"You mean that L.C.? Or should I call you Gramps from now on?"

"You mean believing in God?" Ash nodded her head in reply, "Well... Its kind of complicated... Considering what I remember about my past and all thats occurred... It's probably better to have a little faith in some kind of higher power." I admitted.

"I know what you mean. Believing in any sort of higher power isn't really popular now that humans are able to travel the galaxy. I just don't understand how people can look out a viewport at a blue giant and not believe."

"Well... The reason there can probably be linked to the fact that we _can_ travel the stars. The mysticism behind life in the galaxy is gone and so is any reason to firmly believe that life only existed on Earth." I replied.

Ash thought on that one for a bit before responding, " You make a point there Gramps... I need to get back to work on studying the schematics on that cannon you brought down. When I get a chance I'll get a message out to my mom and see what she knows about the family history."

"Alright then Ash, have fun." I spoke as I turned away to go back to the elevator. I checked my omni-tool to see how much time I had left before we reached Feros, and I still had about 4 hours to go. That also meant that the omni-plant should be done with its scan of the suit. I walked over to it and sure enough it was busy recreating it down to the atomic level. _Man... Who would have guessed that so many different materials went into that thing..._ On the display, I saw what I thought looked like an atoms of titanium, cobalt, and carbon being combined to form a kind of sheet.

* * *

(**A/N: **I dug up my old chem notes and found that such a compound could be made since titanium and cobalt both have 2 electrons in their outer most electron shells which would then be attracted to carbon which has 4. It would have to have 2 titaniums and 2 cobalts on each carbon. Those would then donate their outer electrons to another carbon and the chain would continue. I'm not saying that it would be easy to combine the three in such a configuration but it's possible.**)**

* * *

With the omni-plants computers busy trying to figure out how the suit was manufactured, I decided to take the suit back up to my room. _No need for an eager crew member to try it and get themselves hurt... or worse... _As I grabbed as many pieces as I could, John happened to walk up from Engineering and offered to help me take the rest of the suit. As he and I stood waiting for the elevator to come down, I told him about Kaiden's findings. To say that he was shocked would be an understatement, but he knew that DNA doesn't lie. Once we set the suit in my quarters, John went to go get some sleep before the Normandy arrived at Feros. I decided to do the same, only after I made one more stop.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

I stood outside the doors to the med-bay, nervous as all hell. Trying to figure out the best way to tell Liara that I had had a child was not easy. Then adding in that Ash is my descendant, it was downright torture. I considered just bluntly saying it but I didn't know how she would react. _God... She reminds me a lot of Sarah... Blue eyes that you can get lost in... A voice that is music to my ears... Not to mention the pure innocence of her character... _

_**Well... If you ever needed another reason to believe in a higher power, now would be the time to do so... Perhaps you were brought here for a reason and since you lost your first love, the powers that be have given you a second chance...**_

_Let's not waste it then..._

I finally walked through the doors separating the med bay from the mess area, greeted Doctor Chakwas and asked how her research into the nanocells was going. Unfortunately, while she could tell what they did, she didn't quite understand how. She would need a team of biomedical engineers to crack the sophisticated coding to be able to understand it. After giving her a few words of encouragement, I went on back towards the storage room that had been converted into a lab for Liara. The ground crew quarters, while decent, didn't have the space a professional archeologist would need to conduct research. When I stepped through the doors, I saw three separate terminals open with various articles on earth history with Liara looking intently on the one in the middle which had very little displayed. She obviously didn't hear me as I was able to walk up right behind her and put my head right next to hers leaning over her left shoulder.

Being careful to not draw a breath, I said as quietly as I could, "What'chya reading?" Liara gasped suddenly and I swear she jumped a foot in the air. I put my hands on her shoulders quickly to calm her down and laughed at how absorbed she was in her work.

"Goddess Ryan... Don't scare me like that... How did you get in here?" She asked puzzled at my sudden appearance.

"The usual way... Through the door..." I replied.

"How did I not hear you enter?"

"You looked like you were lost in whatever it was your reading." I said gesturing to the screens.

"Hm?... Oh Goddess of course... I was simply looking into Earth history before you discovered the Prothean ruins on Mars. I am simply amazed at how your planet could go from a state of near total war to one of peace and brotherhood."

"Yeah... Although it looks like it was simple I'm sure it wasn't. Having fought in one of the last major conflicts before First Contact I should know... If you push a person far enough they will fight until their last breath."

"It would seem that happened a lot in your history."

"Yeah we call the tendency to destroy everything around us human nature. We build everything up only to knock it back down and start over again. Its a vicious cycle but it's how we progressed from being nomadic tribes, to building space elevators. A great example is that of the ancient city of Rome. The Roman Empire spread so far and wide that it fell apart at its core; but from those ashes the foundations of a more modern society took root."

"You seem to share an interest in history as well Ryan." Liara said slyly.

"Bah... I know some stuff, but most of its a bunch of jumbled junk right now until I can fully recover my memories." I replied off highhandedly.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that... There is a form of meditation that we Asari learn so we are able to retain as much of our memories as possible due to our long lifespans. It may be able to help you recover those memories."

"Well... How about we go back to my quarters. I'm sure it would be more comfortable there." I suggested.

"Yes of course. It may take some time for you to learn the proper technique."

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

With the coast finally clear, the 'new' Robert Aldman was able to head to the cargo bay. He knew that the thief Mitchell had taken his bosses family property, but he couldn't risk actually taking the armor. His instructions were to observe, scan, and upload any data. At some point his boss would tell him to plant an EMP kill switch in the armor which would render the suit useless for a short time, but by then the extraction team would be ready and waiting for them.

Taking a huge risk he began to download the finished scan of the armor the supposed to be top secret omni-plant had done. Making it look like he was checking its status when he really didn't know heads or tails of what he was looking at, he also scanned the plant for good measure. _The boss oughta love this as well... Maybe I'll get that pay raise I've been askin for..._ A few minutes later, Robert Aldman's double, codenamed "Midnight", was heading about what would have been Robert Aldman's normal routine.

What he didn't realize was that he wasn't the only one looking at getting that data on the nanosuit and omni-plant as another crew member watched from behind the Mako capturing the deep cover operative at work on her omni-tool. Once the elevator door shut, a women with dark blonde hair stepped out from the shadows and went and got her own copy of the data to send.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

* * *

**(A/N: For this next part, I recommend getting this song ready to play on youtube: **.com/watch?v=OcxQfCZ_9V8 **)**

* * *

With my armor sitting in a corner, Liara took the chair that was at my extranet terminal and had me sit cross legged on my bed with my hands on my knees.

"Ok Ryan, to begin to learn how to meditate, you first must clear your mind. It must be as still as space itself, focus solely on your breathing. Each breath you take in is but a fleeting moment in time."

As Liara coached me, I focused on my breathing trying to not think of anything else. After what seemed like a few minutes, an instrumental piece of music started playing. It didn't throw me off, but rather it helped me to clear my mind of any extra thoughts.

"Good... Music is often used to help the process along..." Liara commented. "Now to begin the meditation, you first must look inside yourself. Feel every beat of your heart, the blood pumping through your veins. It'll feel as if you have control over your entire body."

As I did as I was instructed, I felt something weird... Like something was gently pushing against my consciousness.

_**Relax Ryan... It is only me...**_

_Liara? How is this possible with out a meld?_

_**Asari are empaths... We can subtly influence and read a persons thoughts, but the effect is very minimal...**_

_Huh..._

_**I am only able to do so with you because you have reached a relaxed state of mind where your mind is more open to me.**_

_Alright... So what do I do next?_

_**Now you must dig into your memories and start with the earliest ones you can remember.**_

_What will happen then?_

_**It'll be as if you are reliving it... By going through each and every memory you have, you should be able to figure out where your memories are missing...**_

_So how would I go about recovering it?_

_**Time... It'll take some time for your subconscious to accept that your ready for them... For now lets start with your arrival on the Normandy...**_

_Hang on... If I relive these memories, how will that effect the link between us?_

_**I will see and feel as you do... Unless you would prefer to do this alone... I understand if you do...**_

_No... I want you here with me... _

… _**Alright then.**_

As I went back in my memory, I was able to relive waking up in the med bay naked again, which I'm sure Liara was glad to see. Then we went through Eden Prime together, experienced getting struck by the beacon again, going to the Citadel and meeting Garrus, Wrex, and Tali. Then came the Spectre induction and coming to Liara's rescue. It was hard to believe that it was only 3 days ago that we rescued her from Therum.

Then came getting to Arcturus and the mission on Luna we just accomplished.

_Liara... Is it ok if we stop for now? I have something to talk to you about before we go any further._

_**Of course Ryan.**_

The feeling of Liara's mind gently prodding at my own mind faded and I brought my self out of my calm state of mind. When I opened my eyes, I saw Liara already sitting next to me holding my hand.

"What is that you wanted to talk about?" She asked.

"Well... As you know when I was brought aboard the Normandy, I had a blood sample taken. Thats when we learned about the nanocells because they were trying to get a DNA match to see if I was who I said I was. Kaiden finally was able to get a DNA match, but it shows that I have some descendants."

Liara was silent for a while before she spoke, "How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but the only way possible is that I got Sarah, the woman I mentioned earlier in the restaurant, pregnant before I came here. I don't know the full story behind it yet, but the real kicker is that I am Ash's great-great-grandfather." I answered her, looking into her blue eyes.

"Goddess... Who would have guessed... The odds are astronomical at best..." Liara mumbled.

"I know... I was worried how you would feel about it, especially considering that I don't even know the full story yet either."

A few moments of awkward silence later, Liara spoke up, "Well... That may help you to uncover what happened to you. It's one more source of information besides Admiral Hackett and your own memories."

"Yeah that's what I was thinking... So your ok with Ash being my granddaughter?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be? She's the only family you have now. After what happened between me and Benezia, and with her working with Saren, only now do I understand the importance of family. I would like to be able to apologize to her as well."

"What do you need to apologize for?"

"It was expected of me to follow in her footsteps and become a leader for our people. 40 years ago, we went our separate ways. I haven't talked to her since then. Now she's working with Saren to bring back the Reapers to destroy the galaxy." Liara said, almost on the verge of tears. I let go of her hand, put it around her in a side hug.

"You never know. There could be other forces at work here." I said as Liara rested her head on my shoulder.

"Perhaps."

We sat there for a while, content to just be together for a while before we reached Feros in about two and half hours. Then I got an idea an awesome idea.

"Hey Liara..." I asked softly

"Yes?"

"How about we watch a movie together?"

"Sure... It would be fun to see what you had for entertainment in your day..." She said teasingly.

"Hey now, just because I have a great-great-granddaughter and am 197 years old doesn't mean I can't still kick some ass." I responded.

"Oh really? What about if I did this?" She replied as her biotics flared and I found myself floating above my bed unable to move.

"Ok now thats just not fair..." I said, partially whining. Liara just laughed a little and moved me off the bed and started to spin me upside down.

"Woah! What did I do to earn this?" I asked, hoping to god she wouldn't drop me on my head. She kept me suspended upside down but brought me over to her so our eyes were level.

"You never did finish our conversation from earlier... What is it that you'd want in return for teaching me about your history?"

"Hmm... I don't know... It might be too much for me to ask..." I teased.

"Oh really?" Liara then dropped the stasis field and I landed head first in her lap with my body sprawling out towards the other end of the bed.

"Ow... Was that necessary?" I asked.

"Maybe..." She answered with a smile.

_**You might as well tell her how you feel about her. **_

_But what about Sarah? Don't I owe her something?_

_**Anything you owe her can be repaid by watching over Ash, face it Sarah would want you to move on now that she's long gone. Liara is here and waiting, she's expressed an interest in you, and you feel the same. GO FOR IT!**_

_Alright... Sarah I'll love you forever... You'll always have a place in my heart... But I need to move on... Good bye my love..._

Once I finished my little self discussion and prayer I sat up from Liara's lap. Facing her and taking both of her hands in mine, I said, "Liara, I'll teach you everything I know about my time... In return all I want is you... Now that I have some knowledge of what happened in my past, I know I need to move on. It's what Sarah would have wanted."

"Goddess... I want you too Ryan... But I have never felt this way for another person before... There is a certain stigma behind melding... I want to take this slow..."

"I understand Liara... I'm in no hurry... I'm happy to just be here with you..." I replied. "Now... Let's see what movies are still around from my time that you might enjoy." Liara laughed as I brought up my omni-tool and looked through the thousands of movies available.

* * *

**In Orbit Over Feros, Attican Beta Cluster, Theseus System**

**Cockpit of Normandy SR-1**

After having watched _The Prestige _with Liara, who thoroughly enjoyed it, I was up by Joker with John watching as we came into Feros' orbit. Liara went to go get her own gear ready, as well as to pack some energy bars. Apparently, she just barely made it through our little escapade on the moon before running out of energy for her biotics. While we were in orbit Joker was trying to raise some one from the colony. There were no comm signals what so ever, only static filled the radio waves. John had a worried look on his face, _Hopefully we aren't too late._

"This is SSV Normandy, here to provide assisstance. Is anyone down there?" Joker said trying to radio some one down there. "I repeat, this is SSV Normandy. Is anyone receiving this?"

A few tense moments later, there was finally a break in the static. "Help! This is Zhu's Hope! The Geth are attacking the colony! There is a dock a few levels below the tower the colony is on! Please help us!"

"Copy that Zhu's Hope. Hold on a few minutes longer, help is coming!" John radioed down, then turning to the PA, "All ground team members gear up! We have some metallic asses to kick!"

Luckily for me, I had already donned the nanosuit and had the AM-1 slung over my shoulder. Hackett had enough forethought to include a shoulder harness for the cannon on my back and I was grateful. It wasn't designed to be connected to the mag-rails on the back of standard armor, and I doubt it would have stayed on in the first place. All I had to do now was run some pre-combat diagnostics using a program that Hackett had installed in the suit while I was in the Cradle in his office, and set it up to record all data from the coming battle.

* * *

**Council Chambers**

**Citadel**

**Same time**

It was the middle of the night on the Citadel, and although the Presidium is always lit like it was midday, most of the various ambassadors and their assisstants were at their apartments sleeping. This of course made it the most oportune time for an off the record meeting. The three Councilors were standing at their usual spots on their stage, while there were a Turian, an Asari, and a Salarian on the floor below. The three Councilors looked at the three that stood below them, they were the Councilors own personal Spectres. Each chosen to be either bodyguards when called upon or the ulimate show of force by the Councilor.

"Spectres, as you may know, Commanders John Shepard and Ryan Mitchell of the Systems Alliance were made Spectres less than a week ago." The Asari Councilor started.

"What you may not know is that Ryan Mitchell's admittance was not originally planned." continued the Salarian Councilor.

"We have called you three here, the best of the Spectres, to investigate Ryan Mitchell and his unique armor." The Turian Councilor finished.

The Asari Spectre, Tela K'Ravos, stepped forward. "What is so special about Mitchell that you ask the three of us to investigate him?"

Before the Councilors could answer, the Salarian Spectre spoke, "His files are perfect. No negative comments from commanding officers, highest scores in his class, but no physical record of him before his arrival on the Citadel. Public files are fake, and any attempts at probing into his history are blocked by the Alliances highest known security codes. Also any attempts for information from Citadel viewpoint won't yield results because of Spectre classification. Whoever he is, he must be very important to the Alliance."

"I am glad that you haven't lost your touch in your old age Spectre Nvak." The Salarian Councilor commended the nearly 40 year old Salarian Spectre who had just shut down his omni-tool and gave a slight bow at the recognition.

"I, however, am more interested in this armor. I have heard rumors that it makes its wearer stronger and tougher than a krogan, harder to find than a drell assassin, and faster than a hanar in water." The Turian Spectre commented.

"Those claims are not far off Spectre Celsus. We have a video that demonstrates its capabilities in a controlled environment." The Asari Councilor stated. The three Spectres omni-tools then activated, showing the video that Mitchell had uploaded to the Councilors days earlier. By the end of the video, the Spectres were speechless until Nvak spoke up.

"How is this possible? Alliance has no tech of the sort that allows for such feats. Must be illegal gene-therapy or biomedical engineering."

"That is what we want you to find out Spectres, you may use any means necessary but you must avoid direct confrontation with Mitchell or Shepard. They are on an extremely delicate mission. No one must even begin to think that you are tailing them, this very well maybe your toughest assignment yet." The Asari Councilor ordered.

* * *

**Feros, Attican Beta Cluster, Theseus System**

**Normandy SR-1**

Now that we had Tali back on the ground team, we really had a well balanced team with an incredible amount of firepower available without taking into account the AM-1. When Tali saw it and asked what it was, she didn't believe that there wasn't any eezo in its operating mechanisms. So while John, Ash, Kaiden, Liara, myself and Tali waited for Garrus and Wrex to get their slow asses in gear, I gave her a copy of the schematics to look over. I swear it was like watching a kid go nuts in a candy shop when she saw its layout.

"Hey Ryan, why don't you take Kaiden, Ash, and Liara through decon and scout out the area ahead while we wait for Big Blue and Big Red?" John suggested, since the decontamination process tended to take forever to complete.

"Alright, see you later..." I replied, then just as the inner door just about closed I added, "I'll try to leave you some Geth!" Unable to see his reaction with the door now closed, I turned around and faced the outer door as well as my squad for the moment "Ok, I'll take point, Kaiden you have left flank, Liara I want you on my right, and Ash I want you to make sure nothing sneaks up on us."

"Roger that Mitchell." Kaiden answered.

"Of course." was Liara's response.

"Yeah yeah Gramps..." Ash grunted.

I shook my head as I replied, "Whatever happened to respecting your elders?". The decontamination process finished and the outer door opened to the docking area. It was simple enough layout, being built to only house one or two ships at a time, an inverted U from my standpoint with docking arms on either side pointing towards the middle. There were various crates of supplies all over the place, like no one really cared where they were kept. As I walked up the side, everyone fell into formation like I instructed. Kaiden and Liara both had their pistols out and ready, where as Ash has her assault rifle in her hands. I of course had to carry my assault rifle since I had yet to modify the suit to have a magnetic rack like everyone elses armor.

When we reached about the half way point of the U's upright, a man in civilian clothes popped out of nowhere, which caused every one else to jump a litle bit.

"Hold your fire!" I ordered since everyone but me had their weapons raised, "Who are you?" I asked the man.

"Your Alliance right? Good we need you to take care of the Geth! Before they find the -" The man was cut off as the tell tale sound of a rocket launcher being fired eurupted and the projectile hit the man, exploding on impact. Thankfully, everyone on my squad dove to cover immediately, even Liara.

I on the other hand simply cloaked so I could get a read on the enemies positions. _I hope to god that they haven't found a way to detect me standing out here or I'm royally fucked._ I counted 4 Geth Troopers in various locations along the U, 2 Rocket Troopers on the opposite side from us, and 1 Destroyer in the only exit/entrance up to the colony. _In close quarters like this with those rockets, it'll be suicide for the others to try and get a shot off. _

"Ryan! What's the situation?" John asked over the comms having just exited the Normandy.

"Well, I'm standing right at the corner of the walkways here, and I counted 4 Geth Troopers, 2 Rocket Troopers, and 1 Destroyer. Unless you or Garrus can get a shot at those rocket bastards, I'm going to get up close and personal."

"Will you have enough energy to take care of both of them?" he asked

I thought about it... _Energy level is at 85% and dropping, moving the 40 meters under cloak to where they are would most likely take it down to 0..._

"Shepard, I don't have a shot with the way these crates are stacked." Garrus said.

"Well that settles it then... On 3 I need as much covering fire as you can give me guys! 123 NOW!"

As I switched off cloak and engaged speed mode, I heard John yelling, "**DAMNITRYAN!**" thankfully though, everyone did like I asked them too. With as much covering fire as they provided, the Geth were forced to stay down. The Destroyer, hiding in the hallway with the only way up to the colony tried to shoot me as I went past with it's shotty, but missed and actually hit the Normandy. _Joker is going to be PISSED!_ I continued on past the other Troopers, my targets trying to aquire me. Right as I rounded the corner I raised my rifle to start sending them to robot hell, but the synthetic bastards were a step ahead.

The closest one to me fired a rocket right at me, when it did the whole world seemed to slow down. I had too much forward momentum to stop and get to cover, so I slid under the rocket and started firing my rifle. The Rocket Troopers shields flickered, then fell under my gunfire, with a bullet catching it in the optic flash light thingy. I looked up for to target the next one, and found that it had its launcher leveled at me. _Of-fucking-course! These robot bastards are a pain in the ass!_ Time still seemed to be moving at a snails pace, so I used my forward momentum to get back up to my feet and jump right at the robot. The fact that I was able to go from a feet first slide to jumping must have caught it off guard as it didn't fire its rocket. With the space between me and the Geth getting smaller,I reached out with my left hand, my right holding the rifle, and grabbed the first thing I felt... and ripped it away from the Geth. Focusing on the landing that was coming up, I didn't bother to see what I had grabbed. As I landed on my feet I spun around and single handedly fired the rifle... Only to find that the Rocket Trooper was missing its head... Which was in my hands...

_Huh... That worked out well..._

Time went back to its normal speed and I ended up landing on my back. When I got back up, there wasn't any gunfire from either side. I looked over to where I left everyone else, and I saw them all standing up. "Clear!" John yelled.

"All clear!" I replied as I walked back to the hallway that would take us up to the colony. I could tell John was getting slightly pissed.

"Ryan, you need to stop going off and doing shit like that. One of these times your little stunts are going to get you hurt or killed!"

"John, at the time it was the best option available to us. Would you have risked any one else's neck besides your own to get a shot at those Rocket Troops?" I replied, being careful to keep a neutral tone.

"No, I would have found another way, there are always alternatives." He retorted.

"John, you of all people should know my training. I had to make split second descisions so my team could get to our extraction point under enemy fire or so I could get fire support where it needed it most. In the dozens of missions I went on, I never risked anyone's neck but my own... And thats a policy I'm going to keep."

John went quite real quick, the softly said, "Ryan... If we lose you, we lose whatever data that beacon put into your head. We need you so we can figure out what Saren's plan is."

Now it was my turn to be quite for a moment. "John, if worse comes to worse, Liara has the beacon in her mind now too thanks to the meld we did. If anything were to happen to me, you still have her."

"That's an option I'd rather not have to use... But fine... Let's figure out why the Geth are attacking this colony." John relinquished as he went to take point.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

After we climbed up several sets of stairs and blew away a few of those jumping Geth with a singularity from Liara, we finally made it to the colony. It was a mess to say the least. There was a freighter right in the middle of the main plaza, and everyone was either working on getting some decrepit piece of machinery working again or behind barricades to defend against any more Geth.

_Something is off here..._ John, Wrex, and Ash went ahead to talk to Fai Dan, who was apparently the leader of the colony. Everyone else, myself included, went around to see if there was anything we could do to help. Tali went to go help a woman figure out what was wrong with a water main, Garrus and Kaiden worked on trying to get an old generator working, and Liara and I went around asking if anyone else needed help. When help was offered, they all said to go talk to Fai Dan, as if they didn't do anything with out his orders.

"These people, they came here to try and start a new life. Instead they face death and destruction, what for? Feros is known for being a Prothean city world, but there is hardly anything left in the towers." Liara started talking as we worked our way around the freighter.

"Yeah... Something is definitely off here... Why would the Geth attack a colony like this?" I replied. Without warning, my visor went to a deep red.

**Warning... **

**Unknown biological agent present... **

**suit seals 100%... **

**analyzing...**

"John!" I radioed as soon as the suit alerted me. Instead of getting a reply back, I heard the familiar report of assault rifles and shotguns being fired.

"Everyone to John's position NOW!" I yelled loud enough to make Liara cringe. Naturally I reached his position first, with Garrus, Kaiden, Tali, and Liara right behind me. John, Ash, and Wrex were behind the makeshift cover the colonists had set up and were alternating at firing at a Geth Trooper who was firing from behind a doorway.

"You had to start the party with out me, didn't you John?" I quipped as I knelt beside him in cover.

"Well of course, if I waited the Geth would have rusted over by the time you would have got here!" He yelled back. "Keep your heads down! Grenade!" He announced as he threw the disc like a backhanded frisbee throw through the doorway. A second later, the explosion came and we heard the familiar sound of a Geth dying.

"Music to my ears," Wrex grunted as he got up from cover.

"The Geth dying or the explosion?" Garrus asked.

"Both."

"Alright, apparently the geth are holed up in the tower. Wrex and Ryan, you two are point. Ash, Kaiden, Tali your going to stay here for rear guard. Garrus and Liara, your with me covering our de facto ass kickers." John ordered. Wrex got a meanacing look in his eyes, but he was smiling so apparently he liked John's comment.

"Hold on John. My suit has picked up some kind of biological agent in the air." I warned before we moved on.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean that you all should put on your helmets just to be the safe side. The suit is still analyzing it, whatever it is..." I answered.

"Alright everyone you heard him, helmets on. Double check suit seals." John ordered.

A few minutes later when everyone else was all set, Wrex and I moved ahead up the stairs. There were a few Geth Hoppers as I decided to call them, which didn't last long under sustained assault rifle and shotgun fire from Wrex and I. We reached a level that had two other sets of stairs and an elevator.

"The elevator most likely leads to the skyway, Commander." Liara suggested.

"Alright, so lets go up then." John ordered. _Makes sense, top of the hill strategy for the Geth..._ Oddly though we didn't run into any more Geth as we made our way up the stairs. A few flights later, we came out into what may have been a small ampitheater. It had a semi circular shape with large steps going all the way around. I did a thorough scan, and moved forward ahead of the rest of the team. Checking the roof for any signs of a sniper I saw something that did not increase the odds in our favor...

"Uh John... Find cover... NOW!" I yelled as what I could only assume to be a Geth ship came in and parked it self over a huge hole in the roof.

"MOVE IT PEOPLE!" John yelled as almost a dozen Geth dropped from the ship.

I immediately cloaked again so I could get a head count... _Ok... 4 Geth Trooper, 3 Destroyers, 4 Geth... Shock Troopers maybe with that heavier armor and bigger gun? And one big motherfucking robot..._ The robot in question was easily 8 feet tall, had a gun almost the size of the Mako's, and was completely incased in armor. _Well... Its about time we had a challenge..._

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

"Hey Tali... Think you can get us a video feed from Mitchell's suit?" Ash asked.

"Probably, why do you ask?"

"I'm curious about what we are missing out on... Also we may need to provide some back up."

"Right... Give me a few seconds..." Tali acknowledged and began typing away on her omni-tool.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

Rather than do something incredibly stupid like rush into the middle of the dozen Geth in front of us and fire randomnly, I went back to the squad who had found cover behind some large chunks of the ceiling that had fallen down. I was about to decloak so I could focus my energy on armor when I got a message icon in the corner of my HUD. _Seriously?_

"Mitchell?" Tali's distinctive voice came through.

"Tali?... What do you need, I'm kind of busy at the moment!" I sorted of yelled.

"I want to get a video feed from you suit, I may be able to give some information on the Geth your fighting."

"... Right... Ash got bored didn't she?"

"... Yes but that's not the point!" I heard Ash in the background.

I set up a secure feed to Tali, "Alright, establishing connection... Can you see anything?"

"If what your looking at is the floor then yes." She deadpanned

"Alright... So what can you tell me about that monster of a Geth over there?" I stood up quick, still under cloak with everyone firing around me. Liara had thrown a singularity out, and while John's, Garrus', and Wrex's shots were all hitting home, the damn robots didn't go down.

"Oh Kee'lah... That's a Geth Prime! It increases the combat effectivness of the units around it by several times!"

John must have been listening in as he spoke up, "So that's why these bastards won't go down! Alright everyone shift your fire at the big one!"

"Your going to need more firepower than what you have with you. Geth Primes are a class below Armatures, but have the same armor as a Colossus and are EMP hardend!"

"Fucking perfect..." John muttered loud enough for the squad comms to pick up.

"More firepower eh?" I said, my voice giving away my facial expression of a manical grin.

"Ryan... What are you thinking?" John asked as he ducked back down to avoid getting shot by the Primes cannon.

"I think it's time for a field test, don't you?" I asked with a hint of humor.

John got what I was thinking, and grinned like a mad man as well. "Give them hell Ryan!"

I crounched back down under cover, set my assault rifle to the side, and got the AM-1 off my back. As I decloaked and went to armor,. I hit the activation switch for the microfusion generators. When its readout read 100%, I got an awesome idea.

As I stood up I yelled, "IT'S TIME TO KICK ASS AND CHEW BUBBLEGUM! AND I'M ALL OUT OF GUM!" For whatever reason the Geth stopped in their tracks and all looked at me. With my sights set on the Prime, I let the first bolt from the AM-1 off. There was no sound beyond the foot long piece of metal going Mach 40 and smashing into the Prime. As soon as I had fired, the monster of a robot suddenly was missing the top half of its body, while the bottom half flew backwards from the momentum it had from the impact.

Thankfully everyone else had the presence of mind to take down the other Geth that were standing, I on the other hand had a bigger target in mind. I shifted the AM-1 up and started firing it at the ship that was over the tower. The first shot was completely blocked by the shield, as was the second and third. The fourth one however hit the money as the shields fell and a small explosion occurred as what was left of the bolt impacted the ship.

The shot apparently hit something vital, as the ship lifted off and flew somewhere that wasn't here. I of course wanted to inflict as much damage as possible and fired another two shots at the ship, each hitting and causing similar small explosions on the ship. After that it flew down and out of sight.

"Damn... I wanted to bag me a biggin'..." I half whined, half groaned as I put the AM-1 back on my back and picked up my assault rifle. When I looked back up at John and the rest of the squad, everyone was just looking at me in disbelief. "What?" I asked holding my arms out.

Wrex was the first to speak up, "Well... Just because it took out a Prime doesn't mean it can take out a Krogan." and proceeded to stomp back off towards the colony.

Garrus simply said, "Nice shooting... I'll have to get me one of those..." and went after Wrex down the stairs.

John was shaking his head the entire time, "Duke Nukem? Really Ryan?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Well it was either that or Scarface."

As I walked by him, Liara immediately came over to me and after taking my arm, which I had offered, asked, "Who's Duke Nukem?"

_Oy..._ "Well... Back when I was a kid, we had interactive video games and some of them tended to be fairly violent... Duke Nukem was one of the characters with that reputation, along with some pretty awesome catch phrases."

"I see..."

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

When we got back to the colony, John had found out that the Geth had a transmitter in the lower levels and that an Alpha Varren was preventing the colonists from hunting for meat. Tali chimed in saying that the mains for the water were down in the lower levels as well. After finding out that the Geth were holed up in the Exo-Geni building down the Skyway, John and I went aside to talk strategy.

"Well, figure your going to need a four man team to deal with the Geth over in Exo-Geni. That leaves me with the others to take care of the lower levels" I started off.

"True but who should I take?" He asked.

"Well in my opinion, I'd recommend Tali, Garrus and Wrex. That way you have two techies and a power house if things get ugly."

"Ok, I see where your going. If the Geth do decide to make another push, you have two trained soldiers , a strong biotic, and you and your tin can to hold them off. I'll take the team and head back to the Normandy so we can do a Mako drop on to the Skyway."

"Is the Skyway strong enough to take that kind of punishment?" I asked.

"Yeah, when the colony first started they had heavy trucks moving equipment to and from the tower Exo-Geni is in now, and those things weight a lot more than a Mako."

"Alright, but I better not have to scrape your ass off the planets surface."

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

As John, Tali, Garrus, and Wrex went back to the Normandy, I took Ash, Kaiden, and Liara down into the lower levels.

"Why am I getting a bad feeling about this?" Kaiden mumbled as we reached the bottom of the staircase.

"Probably because it resembles a zombie-horror vid." Ash joked. "Long dark halls, unknown enemies possibly around every corner, only one way out-"

"Alright Ash, we get the picture. Same formation from before, Liara and Kaiden be ready with Pulls or Throws. With these tight corridors we can't afford to get pinned down. Ash, controlled bursts from your rifle only. Only take the shots you know you can make everyone."

As we made our way down the long hall, we were forced to head into the side service tunnel due to a collapse in the ceiling. I held up my hand to stop the others behind me. I cloaked, and moved ahead slowly in case the Geth had a trap set up.

_Of course, being patient in battle does pay off once in a while... Let's see... 3 Troopers, and 2 Destroyers. Not too tough..._

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

After fighting our way through 3 more failed ambush attempts, we were able to find and get all the water valves fixed and running again. Then Kaiden decided to checkout a door that was partially open, which led us to a sleeping pack of Varren. When Ash stepped on piece of glass, they all woke up and immediately found our scent. Of course having two assault rifle weilding soldiers and two proficeint biotcis helped immensely until the Alpha Varren tried to take me down from behind. Liara must have gotten mad, or a little protective, because she threw a biotically enhanced punch that killed the Alpha in one hit.

After that little fiasco, we continued down the hall, trying to find the Geth transmitter. Oddly enough we hadn't received any updates from John and whenever we tried to raise him, all we got was static. Kaiden chalked it up to a combination of interference from the transmitter and being so far into the stone structure.

In the lone hallway that made up the lower level of the tower, there were only a few places we had not yet checked. We checked a few of the doors, most of which were shut either from the effect of time or being out of service. With one more door to go, we were ready for just about anything...

Anything but 3 Krogans and a couple of Rocket Troopers. Ash and Kaiden ducked to the left side of the doorway while Liara and I moved to the right. "Why the hell are Krogan fighting for Saren?" I asked out loud to no one.

"Perhaps because they were told they would be paid well!" Liara answered.

"Rhetorical question! On 3 give me covering fire!" I replied, earning a chuckle from Ash and Kaiden. I grabbed the AM-1, flicked the power switch, and prepped myself. _This is gonna hurt..._ "1... 2... **3!**"

Ash immediately knelt down and leaned around the doorway, while Kaiden leaned over her with his pistol. Liara stayed back with her biotics flaring. As soon as I turned and leveled the AM-1 at the first Krogan I understood why. She created a barrier around me to help protect me. _Why didn't I think of that?_ Quickly, I filed that thought away for later, and lined up the first Krogan. Less than 2 seconds later, the remains of 3 Krogan were spread out all over the room. Right as I fired the last shot, the 2 Rocket Troopers decided to risk getting blown to bits and fire a pair of rockets at me. _Well atleast they are predictable... _ I dove and rolled back to Liara's side before the rockets managed to make contact with me. Kaiden lifted the Rocket Troopers from their perch and Ash nailed them with a few bursts of her rifle.

"Well... That worked out better than expected... Let's blow up that transmitter and get back to the colony..." Ash, Kaiden and Liara all nodded at that sentiment.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

As we worked our way back up to the colony, a comm link opened. "SHEPARD! MITCHELL! Come on someone answer!" Joker's voice came blaring through the link.

"OW! Watch it Joker! You nearly blew out my ear drum!" I responded.

"Finally! You and Shepard have been out of contact for a long time and we have a situation developing! The colonists have gone mad and have started to attack the ship!"

"What the hell is going on?" I asked.

"I think I can answer that," John's voice coming in as well now. "Exo-Geni has been using Zhu's Hope as an experiment for their research into a organism called the Thorian. Apparently it releases spores that allows it to influence any one who breathes in enough of the spores."

"Well that explains the biological agent warning and why they all have been acting so weird. So what's our next step?" I ask.

"Well, it seems that the Geth, when they arrived, immediately went looking for the Thorian and any information pertaining to it. So I say we go find it ourselves and see what happens from there." John responded. "We were able to get a nerve gas mod for our grenades that should immediately incapacitate them, so no need for lethal force. My team should arrive at the elevator in about 10 minutes."

"Copy that, last one there buys the entire ground team drinks next shore leave." I challenged him.

"How about since your closer you have to buy doubles?" John bargined.

"Meh... Works for me..."

"Uh... Commanders... What am I supposed to do about the colonists banging on the hull?" Joker asked before we shut the comm link.

"They can't do any real damage... Just sit tight and hopefully we'll have it under control soon." John ordered.

With the next order of buisness determined, I led my squad up back up where we came from. Walking all the way back through the lower level, we made good time considering that we had to step over numerous piles of dead Geth. When we reached the stair s though, there was something standing on the landing.

"Hold up guys..." I spoke quietly. Whatever the thing was, it heard my voice and turned to face us. "What the flying fuck is that?" I asked outloud again. The creature had a humanoid shape, but lacked several features like eyes and ears. It also seemed to be entirely green.

"Maybe a colonist that had too much exposure to the Thorians spores..." Kaiden offered.

"No... No amount of mutation would turn a human into that thing... It must be something from the Thorian..."

**Warning... **

**Biological Agent Present... **

**Concentration level: 40%... **

**Tissue sample required for thorough analysis by deep layer protocols**

_Perfect... Now my suit wants to run its own experiment!_ Unfortunately, it would have to wait. The Thorian slave suddenly rushed at us, similar to the Husks on Eden Prime. Kaiden or Liara, I couldn't tell who, used Lift on the creature effectively disabling it for Ash to blow apart with her assault rifle.

"Nice one guys, give me a minute here... The suit needs a tissue sample to analyze..." I said.

"Your suit wants to analyze the Thorian? What for?" Ash asked.

"I am curious as well. I am unsure what good could come of research into controlling a persons actions." Liara added.

"Who knows guys... Everything I know about the suit so far would seem to indicate that it may want to come up with a defense against it. The suit itself is designed to protect its users life in any way shape or form." I replied.

"That's a good point, who knows where else we might encounter something like this." Kaiden said backing me up. Thankfully all I had to do was put my hand in what could only be described as the guts of the Thorian slave, which thankfully bore no resemblence to that of humans. _That can only mean that the Thorian produces these things... Perhaps as a means of self defense..._

_**Or as a means to repopulate...**_

_I hope not..._

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

Thankfully we didn't run into any more of Thorian Creepers as Ash decided to name them, and we waited for about 30 seconds before Shepard and his half of the ground team showed up. Looking at their armor it seemed like they came into contact with some kind of acid rain.

"What happened to you guys?" I had to ask.

"These weird humanoid things were in our way as we came in from the Skyway. When they got close they tried vomited acid at us. Thankfully some quick shotgun blasts to the legs took care of that problem." John answered.

"Huh... Biotics worked well for us, although we only had one in our way... Getting back to the colony though is going to be hard especially if some more of these Creepers are there." I replied.

"Creepers?" Garrus asked. "Who came up with that name?"

"I did," Ash said. "Something wrong with it Bird Man?"

"No its just that... Wait... What did you call me?" Garrus said not realizing the nickname.

"Don't worry about it Garrus," Ash laughed, "I'll explain later."

"Um... Sure..."

"Alright so if we are done coming up with nick names for everyone on the team, I think I have a plan. Ryan, I want you to scout ahead-"

"Of course" I interrupted with an exasperated sigh.

"and tell us how they are arranged and their numbers. Then Liara, Kaiden, and myself will go in and biotically lift everyone in sight so we can either shoot or disable as needed. We only have 10 grenades with the nerve agent, so save them for groups of atleast 4. Ash and Garrus, you'll be providing long range support while Tali and Wrex will take care of anything that gets too close for comfort."

"I love being the point man in a situation like this..." I groaned.

"Hey, look at this way Mitchell. Atleast you can cloak unlike the rest of us." Garrus offered.

I sat and thought about for a second before answering, "Yeah thats true... Although I'm going to be boned if I can't find a decent spot to cover before my energy level runs out."

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

So getting the intel proved to be interesting. The colonists, it seemed, were expecting us and had set up several barriers as well as sealing up the freighter. John had explained that before I left that the freighter was actually covering the path down to the Thorian. _Who would have thought to look under there... Or even to put a damn space ship over the only access! _Of course, I wasn't going to risk trying to sneak right by the 3 colonists that were right where Fai Dan had been earlier so I decided to jump up on top of the freighter. The maneuver cost me a lot of energy using both strength and cloak mode at the same time, but it allowed me to uncloak and rebuild my energy in safety. While I was waiting and using my omni-tools passive scanner, I got another warning message from my suit.

**Warning... **

**Thorian Spore Concentration Level: 70%... **

**Deep Layer Protocol Analysis: Spores can be used to reverse outside mental influences... **

**Alert: Need sample from Thorian to complete analysis...**

_Wonderful... I suppose that means that we could possibly use it later on... But how am I going to get a direct sample?_

"John... My suit just updated me about the Thorian Spores. They can be used to reverse outside mental influences, but I need to get a direct sample from the Thorian before it can be used."

"Well what the fuck does that mean?"

"I have no idea... Anyways, I managed to get the info you wanted. Sending it to your omni-tool now."

"Recieved... Damn... 20 colonists with 30 Creepers... This is going to be fun... Ryan as soon as we start I want you to begin taking out the Creepers you safely can."

"Roger that John... Time to kick some ass."

Less than a second later I heard the tell tale signs of people defying gravity against their will and being knocked out either by the grenades or by some fancy hand to hand combat. The Creepers which were surrounding what appeared to be controls for the crane began to turn and look towards where John and everyone else was coming from. They were still grouped together, so I decided to take my chances. With armor engaged, I got up and kneeled on a knee and opened up full auto on the Creepers.

The colonists noticed I was on top of the freighter, and tried to take me out. It must have been a combination of crappy pistols that weren't very accurate or they were just bad shots, but I only felt a couple impacts.

By the time John and everyone else got around the freighter to the court yard if it could be called that, the Creepers were dispersed between the colonists and I had to take precision shots. Thankfully, since the colonists were distracted by me earlier, that gave John and everyone time to knock the colonists out while annihilating the Creepers that I couldn't hit safely. Wrex seemed to be enjoying the blood bath, as every shot gun blast would disembowel the Creepers afterwhich he would smash their heads with his foot. Tali was being a bit more cautious, taking her shots at the maximum effective distance. Garrus and Ash on the other hand seemed to be out of work, every time they raised their rifles to aim at a Creeper it would be blown away either by me, Tali, or Wrex or it would be lifted by either John, Liara, or Kaiden.

_Yet another battle plan well executed..._ With all the colonists knocked out and a crap ton of Creeper body parts and fluid all over the place, I jumped down to the rest of the team. Kaiden made his way over to the controls for the crane, when we heard,

"I was their leader and I failed them..." Fai Dan came from around the corner of the freighter with a gun in his hand. "It wants me to fight you..." His gun hand started to shake as he brought it up. I sent Liara a quick message via a secure comm line between her and I,

"Get a stasis field ready now!" _Gotta love thought control._

As Liara's biotics flared, Fai Dan continued, "It gets in your head... Causes so much pain... I won't fight you..." His gun came up and was pointed in our general direction but it wouldnt hurt any of us since we had armor and shields. Suddenly it shot up to his head as he shouted "I WON'T!"

However, instead of gunshot going off, Fai Dan had a surprised look on his face as a blue field surrounded his entire body. Liara had gotten her stasis ready in time and was able to stop Fai Dan from pulling the trigger. I walked up to him, and grabbed the gun from his hand. "It's not your fault..." I spoke to him, right before I hit him in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. "John... do you have some cuffs or something we can use to tie him up so he doesn't hurt himself?" I asked, fearing for Fai Dan's mental health after being controlled like that. Something about this situation really got me down... _Maybe something similar happened in my past..._

"Better yet, Kaiden and Tali I want you two up here to make sure that if any of the colonists wake up that they are a threat to themselves or anyone else." John ordered.

"Thanks John..." I muttered.

"Everyone else, double check your gear. We have a giant mind controlling plant to kill."

_Wait... a plant?_

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

**Warning... Spore concentation levels critical... 90%...**

We were working our way down the steps to where the Thorian apparently was when the suit reminded me about the spores. Although how it was able to analyze them was beyond me, I only hoped some good would come from all of this.

"So John... Any more information on this Thorian other than its a plant?" I asked.

"No, apparently though it has something resembling tentacles that go on for several klicks beyond this tower and is sentient."

"So nothing useful..."

"No..."

"Wonderful..."

After descending down probably close to 100 meters, we finally came to the bottom. "Alright... So all we have to do is find this thing... and... um..." Liara started talking before we walked out into a huge central chamber. Hanging in the middle was a giant growth with something that may qualify as a head. The head had something resembling tentacles around some kind of opening and above those were several indentations which may act as the things eyes.

"John... That is NOT a plant..." I muttered...

"I think we are going to need bigger guns..." Garrus added.

"Anyone bring a flamethrower?" Ash asked.

As we all walked in front of the Thorian, which convienently had a small platform infront of it, it was evident that it was breathing... or doing something that resembled the action. Without warning, the mouth, which I hoped to god it was, opened and out came a naked Asari... A naked green Asari nonetheless. _Well then..._

* * *

**(A/N: I never got how a damn plant could give a clone commando leathers and a weapon, and thats before trying to figure out how the damn thing could clone anything!)**

* * *

Before any of us could say anything, the green Asari spoke. "Invaders! Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose. Except one of you is different... Meat and cold in one... You may be of use... I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe!"

When our naked and green interpreter mention Saren, John's eyes lit up. "You gave something to Saren. Something I need."

"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone. The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the Long Cycle. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! It will listen no more!"

"Give me what I need and I'll make sure the one who betrayed you is punished." I tried to negotiate with the Asari.

"No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry. Your lives are short, but have gone on too long. Your blood will feed the ground and the new growth!" _Well that worked._ The Asari then turned to me and said, "You will be most useful for the next cycle..." Before I knew it, I was lifted up into the air and flung towards the mouth of the Thorian.

"FUCK!" was the last word out of my mouth before everything went dark.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

As soon as Ryan was lifted, John brought up his assault rifle immediately opening fire on the Asari infront of him. It was useless though as she somehow had a barrier inplace, which even blocked two warps from Wrex and Liara. When that didn't work, Liara rushed ahead, with her right fist encased in pure biotic energy. John kept his fire up to distract the green Asari from Liara's advance.

"Shepard! Behind us!" Came Garrus' voice followed by the report of his sniper rifle. John quickly turned his head to see almost a dozen Creepers coming from a passage they walked by earlier. _Why can't things be easy for once?_ Ash and Wrex both moved to combat the Creepers which left Liara and John to deal with the Asari...

Who was falling over the ledge just as John looked back. Liara was ready to tear the Thorian apart to get Ryan back, and John was about ready to do so before the thing began to bellow an unbeliveably loud and high pitched scream.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

**Warning... **

**Unauthorized attempt to access suit systems... **

**User protection mode engaged... **

**Sufficent sample collected for Deep Layer analysis... **

**Unauthorized access attemped blocked... **

**Emergency energy bleed off engaged...**

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

As John looked at the Thorian, it seemed as if it was melting or on fire from the inside. One side of the Thorians body looked like it was being cooked while smoke or something was coming out of its mouth. The spot that was cooking suddenly turned black, then turned to ash.

When the ash fell away from the body, Ryan's body could be seen!

"RYAN!" John and Liara shouted together.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

"RYAN!"... _Who the hell is calling for me? Wait... The last thing I remember..._

"GOD FUCKING DAMN FUCKING SON OF A FUCKING BITCH!" I yelled as I realized I was inside the damn Thorian! I must have dropped my assault rifle cause my hands were empty, but as I looked around it seemed like I was in a foxhole. _Well what the fuck happened here? Atleast I have the AM-1 yet... I'm not going to waste this opportunity though..._ Since I was on my stomach, I crawled out of the hole that had appeared in the Thorians body around me. When I got my head out of the hole, I saw John and Liara down and to my right. I got my arms out side of the Thorian, and noticing that I wasn't too far from the top I pulled myself out and forcibly punched and kicked some hand holds into the Thorians side. The plant squirmed from the pain, although I was surprised it was still alive after having a good chunk of itself burned away.

When I crawled up top of the Thorian, I could tell that there were some Creepers attempting to rush Garrus, Ash and Wrex but were having no luck as the three of them were pushing to a passageway that we some how missed on our way in. _Wow... Way to check corners and halls... My drill sargeant must be turning in his grave at that one about now..._

"Ryan!" I heard John yell up to me, "What the hell did you do?"

"I have no idea! I was knocked out until I heard someone yell my name!" I yelled back down. John then reached for his grenade bandolier, and undid it. He the went and pulled something from each of the grenades and replaced them with something else.

"Well lets end this thing here and now!" He yelled with a huge smirk on his face and threw it up to me after a biotic puch.

"Roger that! Proceeding to blow shit up!" I responded as I caught the bandolier. Priming the first grenande and setting it to remote detonate via omni-tool/thought command, I climbed back down to the hole I came out of and threw it in. After climbing back up, I went to the back of the Thorian. _This is going to be epic._ "Hey John!"

"What?" I heard him responded via the comm link. I began to sprint across the top of the Thorian. When I reached half way, I used all the energy I had to jump. As soon as I did, I yelled "Fire in the hole!" and detonated the grenades.

The explosion vaporized a good half of the Thorian, but whatever John had put in them had also increased the force of the explosion. When the over pressure hit me, I went almost straight up. Thankfully, though I had accounted for some that in my quick distance calculation and although I don't know how I was able to keep control of my fall.

Landing on my feet infront of Liara, I heard something snapping and giving away. I turned around to see that the tendrils holding the Thorian up were snapping. The ones remaining were not enough to support the weight of what was left of the plant, after a few more snapped off, the hulk of what remained fell down the tower. I waited for the envitable thud, but when a full minute went by I looked over the edge and saw nothing but stone tower and blackness. Finally, after almost two minutes we felt then heard the thud of the Thorian at the bottom.

"Wow... That's a long way down..." I said whistling.

"I knew these towers were tall, but to be that tall and still be standing after 50,000 years... The Protheans really were an amazing race." Liara added.

"Hey Shepard! You may want to get over here!" Ash shouted to us from the side hall. John, Liara and I jogged over to see what was the matter. When we found Ash, Garrus, and Wrex there was a normal colored and clothed Asari on the ground. On the wall behind her was some sort of pod that had a vine of sorts connecting it to one of the now dead Thorian tendrils. As soon as we arrived, she woke up.

"I'm free?... I'm free!" were her first words. Everyone but John and I leveled their guns at her, at which her eyes promtly went wide in shock. "I suppose I should thank you before you shoot me for freeing me from the Thorian."

John, unfazed by her little add in, asked "How exactly did you end up inside that... thing?"

The Asari, who was a darker shade of blue than Liara and had a decorative pattern around her eyes, stood up. "My name is Shiala. I serve- I _served _Matriarch Benezia. When she allied herself with Saren, so did I."

"What? Where is she? What is she doing with Saren?" Liara questioned, wanting to know why her mother sided with a psycho bent on killing the galaxy.

"I am sorry I don't know where she is now." Shiala answered, with a hint of sorrow in her face. "Benezia foresaw the influence Saren would have. She joined him to guide him down a gentler path. But Saren is compelling. Benezia lost her way."

"How the fuck did that happen?" I asked, hoping to speed up her story.

"Benezia underestimated Saren. As I did. We came to believe in his cause and his goals. The strength of his influence is troubling." _Well that helped..._

"That sounds like mother, she wanted to turn the river and was swept away." Liara thought out loud.

That wasn't enough for John though, "Asari Matriarchs are among the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy. How could Benezia fall under Saren's control?"

"Saren has a vessel. An enormous warship unlike anything I've ever seen. He calls it Sovereign. It can dominate the minds of his followers. They become indoctrinated to Saren's will. The process is subtle. It can take days, weeks. But in the end, it is absolute. I was a willing slave when Saren brought me to this world. He needed my biotics to communictae with the Thorian to learn its secrets. Saren offered me in trade. I was sacrificed to secure an alliacne between Saren and the Thorian." Shiala explained.

_There wasn't a faster way to explain that? Seriously..._

"Saren is pretty quick to betray his own people." John commented.

"He was quick to betray the Thorian too. After he had what he wanted, he ordered the Geth to destroy all evidence of its existence. Saren knows you are searching for the Conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so you could not gain the Cipher. Saren knows you are searching for the Conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so you could not gain the Cipher."

_Wait... Cipher? _"Pardon my language but what the fuck is that?" I asked. Shiala gave me a good look up and down before answering.

"So you are the one he is after as well... The beacon on Eden Prime gave you visions yes?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah but its all messed up."

"That is because it was meant for a Prothean mind. To comprehend them, you must think like a Prothean. You must understand their culture, their history, their very existence. The Thorian was here long before the Protheans built this city. It watched and studied them. When they died, it consumed them. They became a part of it."

"So basically its an advanced translator. How did the Thorian give that to Saren?" I asked.

"The Cipher is the very essence of being a Prothean. It cannot be described or explained. It would be like describing color to a creature without eyes. To understand, you must have access to endemic ancestral memory. A viewpoint spanning thousands of Prothean generations. I sensed this ancestral memory -the Cipher- when I melded with the Thorian. Our identites merged, our minds intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught; it simply exists." She went on.

"We need that knowledge to stop Saren!" I responded, hoping that she wouldn't be long winded for much longer.

"There is a way. I can transfer the knowledge from my mind to yours as I did with Saren." She replied.

"Uh... That might not work..." I stated, picking up on where she was going,

"Why is that?" Shiala asked.

Thankfully Liara stepped in at that point, "He has a mental defense given to him by his suit. Ryan, you are going to have to relax and meditate like we did earlier otherwise the meld won't work." Liara's facial expression made it seem like she didn't approve of the measure entirely.

"Perfect..." I moaned.

"Hey Gramps... Need me to get some incense to burn for you?" Ash cracked.

"Not now Ash... John... This might go a tad bit smoother if I wasn't in the suit and had some privacy." I swear it was a good thing that the head section of the suit didn't show any facial features. My face heated up at the laughs that was coming from Ash.

"Yeah... I see no choice in the matter... You sure about this Ryan?" John asked, double checking.

"Not really but what choice do we have?" I answered.

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Crew Deck**

**A Few Hours later**

With the Thorian dead and gone, the colonists were now acting somewhat normal. They were suffering some nasty headaches, but were otherwise overly grateful, especially Fai Dan. Apparently John met up with another group of survivors outside the Exo-Geni building, including the company's rep. John talked with him for a bit while I went and informed some people that it was safe to go hunting again.

Liara, Shiala, and myself didn't stay too long in the colony. I wanted to get this thing over with, especially since the last time something had been put into my mind I was knocked out for 15 hours. Liara showed Shiala to her quarters so I could change out of the suit and get ready. After tucking the armor under my bed, I left my room and made sure it was locked. Liara's room was right next to mine thankfully so I only had to go a door over.

"Commander Mitchell..." Shiala greeted, "Liara has been explaining as much as she could about your ability to resist mental intrusions. If you ever come into contact with Sovereign it may give you an advantage."

"Yeah, but something tells me that Liara didn't tell you everything about that... I hate to have to rush us along, but this is sensitive information that we need." I urged on.

"Of course... Now Liara tells me that you have learned the basic form of meditation. If you would like, I could also give you the knowledge of the various meditations we Asari use as well."

"Well..." I looked to Liara for some guidance, she nodded her head slightly when I locked my eyes with hers. "All I really need is the one used for preserving memories."

Shiala nodded her head, "Of course... Now, if you could please enter the meditative state you got to before then we can begin."

* * *

**(A/N: Get this playing for this section **.com/watch?v=tWox0SJ_GZM **)**

* * *

Thankfully, when I started the process of clearing my mind, another song started playing from my omni-tool. _Must be the subconsciousness way of getting me to calm down..._ The music, while sad, did the trick. I soon felt like I could feel everypart of my body right down to the blood in my veins.

_**Mitchell? **_ Shiala's voice intruded in my thoughts

_Yes?_

_**Good... I wanted to make sure that you were ready...**_

_**He is... In fact he has gotten here faster than he did last time...**_ I was glad Liara was monitoring this in a way, it made me feel at ease about what was about to happen.

_**Try to relax... Slower, deeper breaths. Let go of the shell that is your body... Reach out to grasp the threads that bind us, one to another... Every action sends ripples across the galaxy... Every idea must touch another mind to live... Each emotion must mark another's spirit... We are all connected... Every living being united in a single glorious existence... Open yoursel to the universe, Mitchell... EMBRACE ETERNITY!**_

As soon as she said those final words, my mind was flooded with the images of the Prothean Beacon again. It was slower than before. I could make out clear images of synthetic constructs destroying organics as well as organic-synthetic hybrids. What was more concerning was the image of binary system with two planets, with the second planet having the image of the ship I saw on Eden Prime coming out of it right at me.

As soon as the beacon's message faded, I fell out of the meditation I was in. "I have given you the Cipher, just as it was given to Saren. The ancestral memories of the Protheans are a part of you now."

_**Ryan... Are you ok?...**_ I heard Liara's voice in my head. **_While Shiala was giving you the Cipher I was able to establish a more permanent connection between us, although it is fairly limited._**

_I'm fine Liara..._

"Whatever I saw, it was clearer than before but it still doesn't make any sense..." I replied to Shiala.

"You have been given a great gift: the experience of an entire people. It will take time for your mind to process this information. I am sorry for any thing you may suffer, but there was no other way. You needed the Cipher. In time it will help you understand the vision from the beacon." Shiala explained.

"Thanks... I guess... Now that your free from both Saren's and the Thorian's will, what are you planning on doing?" I asked, figuring John would as well.

"If you and Shepard would permit me, I would like to stay to help the colony. I played a part in their suffering and would like to make amends." She answered hopefully.

"I'm sure that would be fine. The colony is going to need all the help they can get."

Before either of us could get a word out, the PA came to life, "Mitchell, Shepard wants to know if your done having fun with your two Asari yet."

_Typical Joker..._ "Yes I am as a matter of fact. Why?"

"Because he says we need to get out of here. Admiral Hackett and Admiral Kahoku need us to investigate something."

"All right, Shiala needs to get off then we can head out immediately."

"Copy that Mitchell... You lucky son of a bitch" You could tell from the way he said it that he was struggling to keep from laughing his head off. Shiala tilted her head questioningly as did Liara.

With both of them looking to me for answers, I simply said, "Just forget what he said." and bolted to the elevator. _Joker is going to need to be in a lower body cast by the time I'm done with him..._

* * *

**A/N: **Well now that your done reading this thing finally, please know that I highly doubt that I will EVER write a chapter this long again! It was a huge pain in the ass to edit among other things as well.

Just so every one knows, one of the OC cameos will be making an apperance in the next chapter. Since I'm going to be working closely with the owner, it may take a while again before I update! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	14. The Dogs of Hell

Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero

Chapter 14: The Dogs of Hell

OC-Cameo #1

* * *

**A/N**:

**DN7: ***pokes head around corner* … Uh... Hey everyone! *ducks head back behind corner to avoid numerous objects being thrown at him*

**Freeride600: **Well, it has been…quite a while since you updated TUH

**DN7: **It's not like I haven't been working on it! This thing is 61,000 words long!

**Freeride600:** You have a point there.

**DN7:** That's also why I post updates on chapter progress on my profile!

**Freeride600: **Not to be biased or anything, but I'm pretty sure this is one of the best chapters yet.

**DN7: **There's a lot of kickassery that's for sure! My usual **A/N **will be at the end of the chapter but I suppose... Enough talking... On with the show! I do recommend getting these songs ready to play as their lyrics are used in this chapter (By Breaking Benjamin: Forever, Better Days, and Breath. By Drowning Pool: Bodies)

_**Disclaimer: The OC's that will be making an appearance in this chapter, the 517**__**th**__** Asari Commando Squad (Spectre/Commander Kaira T'Suni, Weapon Specialist Delina T'Kasan, Tech Specialist Rana T'Lan, and Vanguard/Kickassery Specialist Forrest Jackson), belong to Freeride600. They are being used with his permission and guidance!**_

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Docked at Zhu's Hope, Feros**

**Mitchell's Quarters**

**July 27****th**** 2183**

After running out of my room as fast as I could so I wouldn't have to explain Joker's snarky comment, I continued running up to see John on the CIC. I saw Pressly working at his usual terminal, and before I could ask him where John was, John came out from the Comm Room.

2

"Ryan, Shiala ready to leave?"

"Close to it... I kinda ran out of there..." John raised his eyebrow, "Joker was being his usual self, and to avoid some awkward conversation I may have ran off." John then got the signature _Ah _ look on his face, and at that moment the doors to the stairs opened up. Liara was leading Shiala on her way out, but she stopped by John and me.

"Commanders, I wish to thank you again for freeing me of the Thorian. As I have told Mitchell, I would like to stay behind and help out Zhu's Hope in any way I can. I owe them that much."

"Feel free Shiala, the Alliance will be on its way to pick up the ExoGeni officials and to help rebuild as well. Zhu's Hope is going to need all the help it can get."

"Thank you Commander Shepard. I wish you and Mitchell good luck in your hunt for Saren. He must be stopped at all costs." Shiala said, bidding John and I farewell. "Liara, Matriarch Benezia was a strong leader. There may yet be a chance to free her from the indoctrination." Bowing in respect, Shiala then turned and went down to the airlock. Once Shiala cleared the air lock, Joker took us out of Zhu's Hope docking bay immediately and rocketed us back out into space.

"We're looking at a 4 hour ETA to Edolus Commanders, got enough time to relax a bit and come chat with your favorite pilot!" Joker called back using the PA

"I'm pretty sure you're the only pilot we have Joker, you NEVER leave that seat!" I answered back.

"Yeah no joke, why don't you let Henderson take the stick for a while and go get some actual sleep?" John added.

"No offense Henderson, but I sleep just fine in the chair! Besides, you never know when you'll need my awesome flying skills at a moment's notice!"

John shook his head, "Henderson, I am ordering you to forcibly remove Joker from the cockpit when we get to the Artemis Tau cluster. As long as you don't break too many bones that is..."

"Alright alright! I get the picture Shepard!"

"Knew that'd motivate him..." John then went up to the pedestal to access the galaxy map, and he zoomed in on Edolus in the Sparta system of Artemis Tau. Liara, who had made her way back to the galaxy map part of the CIC, put her hand on my shoulder to get my attention.

"Ryan, Garrus and Tali said that they found some Prothean data discs while on Feros. I am unsure of how they actually acquired them, but I am going to see what information they may hold nonetheless."

I had to let out a chuckle,_ can't imagine that a Prothean data disc would be sitting out in the open like that after how many years and research expeditions._ I gave her a silent nod, seeing as there really was no reason to reply. _She's always in her little office whenever we aren't on a mission_.

I moved over to Pressly's station, since he was checking over the other CIC crew members. "So what's the deal John? I know we... well more so I, owe Hackett for getting us the AM-1 as well as some more information about my past, but I'm pretty sure this Admiral Kahoku had nothing to do with that."

"You're right on that Ryan," John looked like he was ready to take a Krogan head on, "Kahoku had a team of N7 marines go missing while on assignment, and no one has been willing to find out what happened to them. We need to head back to the Citadel so we can stock up on food for our dextro teammates as well as other supplies, and it's along the way so I figured we could help out."

John was done speaking, but the look on his face and in his eyes said otherwise, " Ok so that's the official reason, but what's the _real_ reason... You have a look on your face and in your eyes"

John took a deep breath, "Well, back when I was first given command of my own squad, we landed on a planet called Akuze. My unit came under attack by Thresher Maws, and we were cut off from any communications for help. After 2 weeks, I was the only one left..."

"I see... You hope that those N7's aren't going through what you did..."

"Yes... But my gut is telling me that there is something more behind this... It's way too convenient... According to Kahoku the N7's were close to finishing their assignment when they went dark."

"Yeah... That does sound a little suspicious..." I had to agree with John,_ but the real question is what were those marines investigating and who thought they were getting too close for comfort._ There was a moment of silence between us as we both thought the situation over.

"Well, I'm going to call for a debrief of the Feros mission in 15 minutes, think you can be there before everyone else is?" John asked.

"Yeah... Hell I'll be the first one there!" I reply, and run over to the door to the Comm Room. As soon as I do though, I feel that familiar sensation of weightlessness. "Damnit John!" I yell as he walked by me into the Comm Room laughing his head off the entire time.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

15 minutes later and everyone was in the Comm Room, taking their usual positions; John and I leaning on the control console, with Kaiden, Ash, and Tali on our right with Liara, Wrex and Garrus on our left.

"Alright, so we found a lot of interesting intel on Feros." John started "First that ExoGeni was performing immoral and unethical experiments on Zhu's Hope, from which they'll be reaping their reward." I has to raise my eyebrow at that one. "ExoGeni's higher ups on the colony knew about the Thorian and wanted to study it, so they allowed the colonists to come under its thrall."

"Well that explains their odd behavior when we got there." I answered.

"Then we also found some data that says they sent some 'samples' to a group called Cerberus. We have the planet's coordinates, but right now we don't have time to investigate who that group is or what it is they are doing with those samples. Our primary concern is Saren, who needed the Thorian to help find the Conduit, whatever the hell that maybe. Is there anything that's come up from getting the Cipher from Shiala yet Ryan?"

"No... Nothing yet, although my head does feel like it's ready to explode." I replied. "All that happened when she gave it to me was that the vision seemed to progress a little slower and it let me see something similar to that giant black squid ship we saw lifting off from Eden Prime come out from a random planet."

"If I may Commanders," Liara interrupted, "I may be of some assistance here. If Ryan and I could join our minds again, I may be able to decipher the message a bit more fully than last time thanks to

Ryan having received the Cipher." She was looking at John more than me, and I turned to look at him. John simply nodded his head and Liara stood up and faced me. I got up from leaning on the comm console and began the process of clearing my head of all thoughts, like I did for the brief lessons in meditating.

"Relax Ryan..." Liara started saying, already I could feel a gentle nudge on my mind, "Embrace Eternity!" My entire perception of the world changed at that moment, my conscious mind leaving behind my body and falling into darkness.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

When the darkness faded, I found myself somewhere that I didn't recognize... Yet seemed to be so familiar... I was on a planet, I could only assume to be Earth because I've only stepped foot on Eden Prime, Luna, Therum and Feros and none of them had brilliant blue skies, majestic clouds, or fields surrounded by mighty evergreens.

"Well... I suppose with your state of mind as well as your memories being in such a fluctuating matter, a simple mind meld will produce... unexpected results..."

I turned around, and Liara was standing behind me... Beyond her though was something I hadn't seen since right after the KDW...

"Liara... I'm home..." I said quietly and nodding my head behind her. My old home was a pretty standard home for early 21st century, single story ranch style house with a partially exposed basement. Situated a good 10 minute drive from the 'city' it was far enough in the country that it we didn't have to worry about the usual noise you get in smaller cities but not so far that it wasn't a hassle to get there.

She turned around and simply said, "Goddess...". She and I stood there for a while, before I took her hand and started leading her to my childhood home. "Ryan... Is this a good idea?" she asked when we got to the front door.

"Well... The way I see it, this place doesn't exist in reality anymore, and I'd like you to see the place I lived in for most of my life." I replied.

"I suppose... Where did you grow up on earth exactly?" She asked.

"Here, I'll show you" I picked her up bridal style, which caused her to let out a cry of surprise, and carried her to the family room. I set her down on the huge couch that was there, and focused on the TV. An image of the United States with the states outlined showed up in response. "Ok, so back in the day that country was called the United States, which today has become part of the United North American States." The image then zoomed in on the northern Midwest region. "I grew up in the state of Wisconsin, and right there," I said as a little marker popped up in the north central part of the state, "is where I lived."

"I see... Do you have any idea of what's become of the area now?" Liara asked.

"No clue... Really haven't had the time you know?"

"That is understandable... I do believe though that we need to do what we originally planned on doing here Ryan."

"Aww..." I pouted. "This is really the only private time we'll be able to get until the next shore leave which is who knows when!"

Liara smiled, "I'm sorry Ryan, but you and I both know how we feel about each other... And I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon."

"Ok, since you put it like that..." I sighed and sat down on the couch next to her when an idea came to me "Hey, if this is can be called a surface mind meld, what would happen if I were to try to meditate here and now?"

"I do not know... To my knowledge, when Asari mind meld nothing of this nature occurs. It may allow for a more normal meld to occur, but I cannot be certain."

"Alright... I was just curious that's all..." I then focused on the Prothean Beacons message and the Cipher. Similar to the last time Liara and I mind melded, the vision came up on the screen.

After watching it one time, Liara sat there stunned. Finally she said "Wow... That was incredible! All this time, all my research! I would never have imagined or dreamed!" I took a hold of her hand, to calm her down, and turned her head to face me. "I'm sorry... The images were so vivid. I never imagined the experience would be so... intense... Your minds ability to cope with the beacons imprinting truly shows how strong you are, anyone else could have had their minds damaged irreparably."

"Would the nanocells have anything to do with that? I mean... they did integrate my translator implant in about a minute and not mention my ability to control my omnitool through thought..." I said thinking out loud.

"Perhaps... Your nanocells may have eased the transition of the beacon's message, and when encountering outside mental influences they also have given you a mental defense to prevent further damage from , the beacon on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged; there were large parts of the vision that were missing."

"So basically we learned nothing new?" I surmised.

Liara shook her head, "Not entirely. You were right about the Prothean's being eliminated by the Reapers. There is an obvious connection between the Reapers, the Prothean extinction and the Conduit. Although there was nothing in the vision about the Conduit that would help us find it."

"Alright... So Saren must have the missing information otherwise why would he of needed the Cipher?"

"That sounds like a logical theory... He may have found another beacon that contained the parts of the vision you're missing."

"Perfect... Again he's one step ahead of us!" I cried out, slamming my fist down hard enough on the arm of the couch that it collapsed. Liara put her other hand on top of mine, which brought me out of my momentary rage. "I'm sorry Liara... I'm just used to being able to see what needs to be done and being giving the resources to do it... I've never had to follow someone around the galaxy always one step behind them trying to prevent them from destroying life as we know it."

"I'm sure there are few who have Ryan... But considering the circumstances you have been thrust into, you are doing admirably. You and Shepard are... how does the human phrase go?... a rare breed?" I nodded my head, "You both are a rare breed of not only humans, but of any sentient life. You are willing to sacrifice your selves to protect others, even going to great lengths to do so."

There was nothing I could say to counter that. After a brief moment of silence, I spoke up "What did I do to get you in my life?"

Liara looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"Oh boy... How do I explain this..." I mumbled, "It's a phrase that humans use when they feel like their loved one is so good to them that they doubt how they came to be together."

Liara looked into my eyes, and then I saw the understanding strike, "Oh... I see... Um... Well, you protected me from a Geth Snipers bullet which would have killed me, after you took down a Geth Colossus by hand. You have been more honest with me than any other human I have met, and you are being patient with me while I learn your kind's mannerisms."

I had to chuckle a little bit, "I suppose I should say it's generally used a rhetorical question..." Liara blushed a little bit "It's ok Liara, you didn't know. Although, what happened to wanting to do a long term observation project on me?" I asked with a big smile.

Liara smiled as well, "Who said it's not in progress?" Before I could get a word in, everything went dark again, signaling the end of the meld.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

When the Comm Room came back into view, Liara was still standing in front of me looking into my eyes. I gave her a slight nod to let her know I was ok, and it seemed that she was feeling better than the last mind meld we did as well.

"Well, what did you learn?" John asked, "You were standing there for a solid 5 minutes"

"Nothing useful unfortunately Commander," Liara answered "The message that Ryan received was incomplete most likely due to the Eden Prime beacon being damaged. We also discovered that the Reapers were the ones behind the fall of the Prothean's."

"So all that work for nothing?"

"Not entirely," I replied, "We know that Saren must have a fully functioning beacon somewhere, and if we find that we may find out more about the Conduit."

"All right, we have another mission for the Alliance coming up in roughly four hours people. Be ready when we make orbit. Until then crew dismissed." John ordered. As everyone stood up and filed out of the door, Liara stopped and looked at me.

_**Ryan... Please be mindful of your anger towards the Council... Come see me when you get a chance...**_ I heard her voice inside my head.

_You know this is going to take some getting used too..._ I thought back which just caused her to smile and walk out while I watched her the entire way... Until John waved his hand in front of my face.

"Hello?"

"Yeah what?" I asked.

"What was that about?" He asked nodding his head towards the now closed door.

"Nothing, don't worry..."

"Commanders, mission reports have been sent off. The Council would like to speak with you two." Joker's voice came over the PA.

"Patch them in Joker." John said.

"When did you manage to write up a mission report?" I asked, seeing how we only just finished the mission maybe an hour ago.

"I'm a quick typer, and it helps when I installed a helmet cam as well." John answered. Before I could ask another question, the orange holograms of the Council fizzled into view. _Is it just me or am I getting cut off a lot today?_

"Commanders... ExoGeni should have told us about the Thorian. It would have made your jobs much easier." The Asari Councilor started.

"You might have been able to capture it for study instead of destroying it" the Salarian Councilor added. _You have got to be kidding me..._

"I doubt that would have been a wise move Councilor." John replied. "ExoGeni attempted the same thing, but look at what happened to the colonists. Who knows what kind of damage it would have done had it gotten off world. There is also the fact that it tried to... assimilate Mitchell and the nanosuit. For whatever reason it did that we may never know."

_Well said John... The Turian Councilor hasn't said anything yet... I wonder why..._

"Perhaps it's for the best then. At least the colony was saved-" The Asari Councilor started only to be cut off.

"Of course it was saved! Shepard, and by association Mitchell, would go to any lengths to help a _human_ colony." The Turian Councilor spat those words out of his mouth as if they left a bad taste.

_That son of a bitch!_ "Oh really?" I started, "How about you find us a colony, any colony, that's under attack from the Geth. I don't care if it's a Turian, Asari, Salarian, Volus, Elcor, or even a Hanar colony ! By the time the overly proud Turian fleet could get off the can, zip up its pants, and make orbit we'll have it saved and be onto the next colony!" When I finished my rant, I had to take a deep breath. I said everything without taking a single break, and I damn near ran out of air.

All three of the Councilors were stunned to say the least. Of course the Turian Councilor spoke up first, "Why you insignificant littl-" His holograms mouth was still moving, but there was no sound. I looked at the Asari Councilor, and saw her lower her left arm. _Booya! Eat that! Score: Turian Councilor 0, Ryan 1!_

"I'm sure we _all_ agree that Shepard and Mitchell are willing to go to any lengths to save innocents" The Asari Councilor said, giving the Turian Councilor a hard stare.

"In any case, stopping Saren is your primary goal. Everything else is secondary." The Salarian Councilor added.

"Goodbye Commanders. We'll be waiting for your next report." The Asari Councilor said, after which all three of the holograms winked off.

John shook his head, "Why does something tell me that the Turian Councilor is going to be a pain in the ass down the road?"

"'Cuz that's his only goal in life, to be an ignorant self serving ass."

"True, but that can be said of most politicians nowadays. They have their uses, but those times are few and far between."

"So what happened on your end of the mission?" I asked, seeing how John didn't have the opportunity to tell me earlier.

"Well, after we dropped the Mako on the skyway, we found a camp where the researchers from the ExoGeni building were hiding. There was this guy Ethan Jeong, he was a complete ass and was more worried about the company's profits than the people around him. One of the researchers then asked us to look for her daughter who we found in the ExoGeni tower after she nearly shot me. After blasting a few dozen Geth and raiding some terminals for information on what ExoGeni was after, we learned about the Thorian and its mind control capabilities. We then proceeded to dislodge the Geth cruiser that was attached to the side of the building, and went back to the ExoGeni camp."

"When we got there, Jeong had his goons holding everybody hostage simply because he was afraid about what would happen to the company when the Alliance found out. The researcher's daughter we rescued broke our cover, and Jeong then moved his gun at me and his goons followed suit. After doing my best to talk him down, trying to convince him that the colony would still make money, he got antsy with his trigger finger and accidentally shot a round at Wrex who had simply shifted his weight from one leg to the other. His barrier blocked the shot, but then Jeong aimed the gun back at me and I was forced to disarm him. He let off another wild shot which grazed my armor. Following disarming him, I placed him under arrest for firing upon a Spectre's team member, firing upon a Spectre, obstructing a Spectre's investigation, and reckless endangerment. The rest you already know, we got the nerve gas from one of the researchers, drove back to the colony, encountered a shit ton of Creepers, and found you."

I let out a long whistle, "Damn... Sounds like a good day at the office for us then. We bring down an ethically unguided project, save some civilians from being reduced to mindless slaves, killed a 50,000 year old plant, and to top it all off I got my mind jacked by some random Asari."

John let out a good laugh, "It doesn't sound quite as impressive the way you said it but ok. Speaking of Shiala and the Thorian though, did you ever figure out what the suit was trying to do with the Thorian spores?"

"I have no clue... From what I can gather, the suit is analyzing the spores for its own use. It's like the suit was designed to analyze alien tissues and repurpose it. The suits AI, VI, whatever you want to call it, did say that it could be used to reverse outside mental influences."

"Huh?" John looked like he was reading a book on quantum physics.

"OK, um... Think of a hypnotist and how they get people to do what they tell them too. Usually the hypnotist has a keyword or phrase to bring a person out of that. The suit thinks it can use the spores to override that keyword."

"So if someone is under Saren's control, then the spores would be able to reverse that?"

"Exactly. Look at Shiala, she was once under Saren's influence until she came in contact with the Thorian who overrode that with its own. Then when we killed the Thorian, she was left with a clean slate."

John thought on that one for a minute. "So how would the spores work without the Thorian's influence? Would the suit then control them or would it just release them outright?"

"I don't know... The only person who could help us has been dead for 160 years. Jacob Hargreave was the designer of the suit, and no one but him knew anything about this one in particular. The suit I have is called the N1.5, the first generation of nanosuits worked fine, but Hargreave wanted to make improvements. So he ended up recruiting me to test out the prototype for the N2 suit."

"So the only way we're going to find out what it's doing is by waiting to see what happens?"

"Sadly yes... Although the Cradle Hackett has may be able to help us out."

John's Omni-tool pinged and glowed, "Speaking of the devil, I just a message from Hackett asking for any data you got from the suit you got during the mission." His Omni-tool pinged again, "Alexi also would like a copy as well, apparently the Omni-plant's computers, while sophisticated, are nothing compared to the one he has on Elysium."

"Alright, I'll head on down right now and take care of that."

"Sounds like a plan... I'll be making the rounds while you go do... Whatever it is that you do" John said waving his hand.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

After hauling the suit down to the Omni-plant and setting up data retrieval, my stomach growled loud enough for Ash to hear by her work desk which caused her to chuckle a little bit and shake her head. I then went up to the kitchen, hoping to get myself a quick snack.

Since it was between meal times, the Mess Sergeant wasn't there. Kaiden was working on a nearby terminal, so I walked over and asked him "Hey Kaiden, does the Mess Sergeant mind if anyone makes themselves anything to eat?" He set down the tools he was working with and looked around.

"Not usually no, depends on what you're looking to make. Most of the stuff we have are standard MRE's, with a few other things to throw in for flavor."

I looked at the kitchen for a second. "So why in the world is the kitchen equipped with everything needed to make a four course meal? We have a stove, an oven, a fridge, freezer, and enough appliances to start a small store."

"Good question... Maybe the next time we stock up on supplies we can get some decent foodstuffs. Not sure what the mess sergeant would think though." I walked back over to the counter that separated the kitchen from the mess hall. There was always a bowl full of power bars there, and rather than deal with MRE's I simply grabbed a few of those to munch on.

"Hey Kaiden, I just realized. You and I talk a lot but I hardly know anything about you beyond the fact that you're a biotic."

"Not much to tell really, when I was old enough the Alliance 'highly-suggested' my parents to send me to Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training or BAaT for short. One day a bunch of guys in suits showed up at my door after school, and I ended up out at Jump Zero. The whole thing was run by a company called Conatix. After a few months with no progress, they brought in a Turian instructor; Commander Vyrnnus. He was ex-military and he ran us hard. You either came out a superman or a wreck. A lot of kids snapped. A few died."

"What the hell! I understand the need for hard discipline but that's crazy! Didn't the Alliance do anything about that?"

"No, it wasn't until an accident that killed Vyrnnus that everything was sealed to hide those mistakes."

"God damn... Talk about covering their asses..."

"No doubt."

I finished eating the bar I had in my hand. "So what exactly are you working on with that terminal?"

Kaiden looked over at the mess he made, "Oh, somewhere in its wiring is a faulty connection, and I have to find it, isolate it, and see if it can be repaired or if it needs to be replaced."

"I see... How many connections are there in the terminal?"

Kaiden had a defeated look on his face, "Around 500..."

"Ouch... I'll let you get to it then." I said with a joking smile and a slap on his back.

_**Ryan...**_ I heard Liara's voice inside my head, and I jumped a little bit.

_Geez... You know this is going to take me a while to get used to..._

I heard a small laugh _**Sorry... If you aren't busy I'd like you to come see me...**_

_I actually just finished talking with Kaiden so I'll be right over..._

I threw my power bar's wrapper in the trash bin, and made my way over to Liara's 'office'. As I entered the med-bay, I heard someone snoring lightly, but Chakwas was nowhere to be seen and the beds were empty. I continued walking and saw that Chakwas had fallen asleep at her terminal. The terminal showed a sample of the nanocells, interacting with some other tissue although I didn't know what kind. Seeing as the good doctor was fast asleep, I picked her up and laid her on one of the recovery beds.

After taking care of Chakwas, I went on back to Liara. When I see her work area, the first thing I notice are all three terminals up and running. One of which has a time line of events from the KDW, another had early 21st century history and the remaining one had information about the USAF's Special Forces programs and distinguished members. I then noticed a machine scanning some kind of disc at the far end of the desk/counter with multiple data pads lying on the floor surrounding her chair.

_Well... Seems like someone has been busy... _I said mentally, hoping that the connection between us didn't require her to start it.

"Oh... Pardon me for the mess, I've been going through as much material as I did during my years at the University of Thessia. There is surprisingly little information on how to access the data of a Prothean data disc. Most attempts have been met with either corrupted data or destroyed discs."

I had to laugh, "Then why are you looking up 'ancient' Earth history?" Liara had not turned around to face me yet so I decided to stand right behind her.

"While we were on Luna, Shepard mentioned that you were a part of two wars; the Thousand Days War and another. While the KDW is listed in detail, there is nothing pertaining to one after that or before the Relay 314 incident. So I decided to look at your unit's history, and there is no mention of you anywhere. I managed to find a class picture of the STS-329, but you aren't listed or in it." Liara pulled up the picture. It was taken the day we graduated, and I was supposed to be in the middle of the back row. Instead there was nothing there, like no one was there to begin with.

"Damn... That picture was shooped." I mumbled as I knelt down next to Liara's chair

Liara finally turned and looked at me, raising her eyebrow a little. "Shooped? What does that mean?"

"Back when I was in high school, there was a program called Photo Shop which allows a person to edit any picture the way they wanted. Advanced users were able to make fake photos that looked legitimate to even professionals. The only way I can tell is by looking at that guy," I said pointing at a guy in the front row, "He had a huge scar running down from his eye to below his shoulder, and here it only extends to his jaw line. Whoever edited this picture knew what they were doing, but missed that one detail."

"Why would anyone want to edit such information from existence? What would they gain?" Liara asked.

"I don't know, but imagine if the Council found out that humans fought aliens on Earth and utterly massacred them by using advanced technology of unknown origins. Whoever did erase that part of history may have done us a favor. That also would corroborate Ash's family story, and Hackett's mentioning of the suits forming a symbiotic bond. The military would want to hide one of its biggest blunders." _Damn... Kaiden and I just talked about that!_

"If the suits formed a symbiotic bond, wouldn't that imply that the wearer would be trapped inside it?" I nodded my head slowly, "Then how-"

"Am I able to take mine off? I don't know... The first suit used purely synthetic means of altering a human's natural abilities, mine uses synthetic-organic means, so it's a fair guess that the version after mine used purely organic means. Maybe it's because of the synthetic-organic hybridization, or maybe something happened when I came forward through time. Something tells me that's something I'll never find the answer too."

Liara put her arm around my shoulders in a reassuring manner, "I hope we will find out soon, you deserve some form of closure..." I put my hand on top of hers, silently thanking her.

"Enough about me though," I said as I stood up, shut off the three terminals, and moved them down the counter so I could lean on it, "How are you holding up? I know we really haven't had a chance to talk about you or your mother much, but now we have some proof that she meant well..."

"I do not know Ryan... Benezia and I had a falling out many years ago. When we initially learned of Benezia's cooperation with Saren, I was confused. She would never take part in a plot that would devastate the entire galaxy! After we freed Shiala however, it seems more likely that Saren managed to bring her under his influence."

"What can you tell me of Benezia before you had your falling out?" I asked.

"Well... While I was growing up, she entered the Matriarch stage of Asari life and became a prominent leader for our people. She was of the mind that the Asari needed to become more involved in shaping galactic events. Perhaps she thought that allying herself with Saren would be for the greater good in the long run... At least, I hope so..." Liara started to shake slightly, the stress of thinking about her mother and her situation getting to her. In response I pulled her up from the chair she was in and brought her into a hug to help calm her down. "I don't understand any of it!" Liara fully broke down at this point and started openly crying on my shoulder.

I simply held her tighter and whispered, "... Hey... We'll figure it out..."

She sobbed a little more, "My only regret is that I never attempted to make contact with her after we went our ways... I sincerely wish we can persuade her back to our side if she has been indoctrinated as Shiala says."

I paused for a second, thinking about the choice I had before me. _I could tell Liara about the suits analyziation of the Thorian spore, which would give her something to pursue... But do I have the right to give her false hope?_

_**But what if you don't tell her and it works? Wouldn't she be more upset that you didn't tell her?**_

… "No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible." I said finally, the words coming to me from nowhere. This made Liara to sniffle one last time, break our hug, and look up at me with questioning eyes. "There may be a way for your mother to be freed of the indoctrination she's under."

"H-how is that possible?"

Remember when the Thorian tried to... well... eat me for lack of better terms?" Liara nodded her head slightly, "The suit managed to obtain a tissue sample. Its analysis shows that the Thorian spores, which were used to control the colonists, could be used to reverse the effects of external mental influences."

Liara went silent for a while, then very nearly collapsed. In my rush to grab her, my foot stepped on a data pad causing me to slip. Thankfully I managed to grab a hold of Liara, and I took the brunt of the impact. When I brought my head up to see if she was ok, our heads were by each others, my hands were on her waist, and her arms draped around my shoulders. _Well, this isn't how I expected things to progress, but it isn't entirely unwelcome..._ Liara came out of whatever shock she went into, and looked up to see where she was.

In the process of each of us checking our surroundings, our lips brushed past each other. My heart skipped several beats and Liara suddenly drew her head back slightly. I could feel the heat from her face plain as day, and the look on her face was one of uncertainty mixed with guilt.

"I-I'm sorry Ryan, please forgive me-" She started but was quickly silenced as I brought my head up high enough to kiss her properly. Needless to say she was shocked a bit, but gave in to the kiss and relaxed. I wrapped my arms around her more tightly, and she closed her arms around my neck as if she were afraid I would leave.

"Apology accepted" I whispered where her ear would have been if she were human when we finally broke the kiss sometime later.

Liara giggled a little bit, "I think I could get used to apologizing that way..." She then let out a rather long yawn.

"How long have you been awake?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"Well if you must know, I have been awake since the last time you fell unconscious."

**(A/N: Chapter 9 when Mitchell woke up from the Therum mission so you guys don't go back trying to figure out when)**

I went over the last few days' worth of events, trying to remember when that was. Then it hit me, "Liara! You've been awake for almost three days!"

Instead of defending herself, she simply rested her head on my chest, and sighed. "I can't think of a better way than to fall asleep like this," she said dreamily.

"Ok how about this? I'll bring you to your quarters, and I'll stay with you till you fall asleep..." Getting only a sleepy nod from Liara, I grabbed underneath her legs so she wouldn't fall and said, "Hold on to me tightly now," when she tightened her grip around my neck, I proceeded to do a full kip. Somehow I managed to pull it off perfectly with Liara on my chest.

After awkwardly opening the door from the storage room/office, I saw that Doctor Chakwas was awake and back at her terminal. "Ah, Mitchell!" She started then immediately quieted down when she saw that Liara was sleeping. She smiled and whispered, "It can wait till later" then proceeded to open the outer med bay door.

Thankfully the Mess hall wasn't busy, it was the middle of the shift and the next meal wasn't for another hour or two which the mess sergeant was busy preparing. Kaiden was still working on the same terminal, with numerous wires hanging out and even more tools on the floor. I shook my head in laughter and proceeded down to my quarters. Funnily enough Liara's quarters and mine were next to each other on the left hand side at the very end, with hers being the last one.

Once I got her door open to her quarters, I immediately went to the side of her bed. _Cripes, I don't think she's even slept in it yet! _The sheets were perfectly flat and crisp while the pillow was still fluffed.

Liara adjusted herself slightly, and mumbled, "...That's because I have... Been too busy..." She proceeded to burrow her head further into the area between my neck and shoulder.

I laughed lightly, "You know... You're even cuter when you're tired..." Without waiting for a reply, I managed to kick off one shoe and balance on one foot. Since my hands were tied up at the moment, I decided to use my foot to bring back the sheets on Liara's bed. Somehow I managed to get them back without falling over or without dropping Liara. With the sheets pulled back, I set her down on the bed, and took off her shoes. "I hope you don't mind sleeping your lab uniform..." I said as I pulled the sheets up and over her.

Just as I finished getting her comfortable, I heard her say, "... You said you'd stay with me until I fell asleep..." in a rather childlike tone. I couldn't help but laugh again.

"Your right I did..." I then lied down on top of her bed without going under the covers. Liara must have felt what I did and proceeded to biotically lift me up and pulled the sheets back with her arm. After lowering me down and resting her head on my chest, she brought the covers back over the two of us in the process of laying her arm across me..

"There... Much better..." She said, half asleep. "I could fall asleep to the beat of your heart..."

At that moment my Omni-tool decided to pop on, and started playing a song. It started with some simple guitar chords, followed by some more chords and other background music. When I thought about the title, the Omni-tool displayed _Forever – Breaking Benjamin_.

"_**Do you know that I could never leave you?  
And you know I could never beat you?  
In a fight, I could never fight you, never mind, I will not forget you.  
Can I stay alive forever?"**_

The lyrics were very appropriate, considering the situation. Liara must have liked the song as she pulled herself even closer into me and let out a relaxed sigh. As I kissed her forehead, the song continued, the guitar part gaining more momentum and almost becoming a full blown ballad.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

With Liara finally getting some decent rest, we still had about 3 hours to go before we reached Edolus. Remembering that Hackett and Alexi both wanted data from the suit, I made my way downstairs to the Cargo bay to see if the data retrieval process had completed. While I was waiting for the agonizingly slow elevator to make its way up, I remember an upgrade idea I had for the nanosuit.

The biggest down side to the suit was in its inability to store weapons effectively like the hard suits that everyone else wore. Coming up with a simple plan in my head, I planned on putting a magnetic patch on each thigh for handguns, and a rail mounting system that could hold a shotgun, an assault rifle as well as the Athena. The mounting system for the Athena would be more complex since it wasn't made for a magnetic rail in the first place.

_Well Alexi... Time to put your life's work to the test..._

When the elevator finally arrived, I stepped inside and after making sure that no one else was coming, I pushed the down button. _**  
**_

"Ok seriously... Whose bright idea was it to have such a slow elevator between two decks was a smart decision?" I thought out loud as the elevator crawled to the bottom of the ship. As the door opened, I could see everyone in their usual places: Wrex standing between the work bench and the Omni-plant, Ash at the work table taking apart a pistol, and Garrus was working on something or other on the Mako with his feet hanging out from underneath it.

Immediately I went over to the Omni-plant to check on its data retrieval from the suit. Thankfully it had finished that, but it still seemed to be trying to assemble the nanosuit from scratch. Just when I was about to go grab the gear I'd need to scan in to it and error message popped up:

_ID-10-T Error..._

_Unknown Component Missing_

"Huh... Well that makes no sense, the suit is all there..." I thought out loud. Ignoring it for now, I proceed to upload the suits data to a secure server Hackett made so only he and Alexi could access it. It was going to take awhile though. There was a petabyte of information to upload and it was going at roughly 10 gigabytes a minute. While the omni-plant was working on that, I decided to go grab what I'd need so I could attach the mag-rails to the suit.

With a spare hard suit and the Athena in hand, I laid it all out on the Omni-plants surface. There was barely enough room on it with the nanosuit on there as well, but I made it work. I proceeded to connect my omni-tool to the omni-plant and waited for the plant's computers to warm up. Once the main screen came up, I chose first to scan everything but the nanosuit. While it was working on that, I proceeded to come up with a locking device for the Athena that would secure it while allowing for full mobility.

Sometime later, I received a rather large shove. Startled I looked at where it came from and found Wrex standing to my right.

"Whoa... Hey there Wrex." I say, seeing as he broke my concentration.

"Mitchell," Wrex grunts, "I have been thinking about you and your suit." _Uh-oh..._

"Ok... Something you'd like to know about it?" I asked hesitantly.

"Would those nanocells possibly cure the Genophage?" He asked.

"I honestly don't know Wrex. I'm not a bio-mechanical engineer in the slightest, and my understanding of how the suit actually operates is very limited. From what Chakwas has been able to discover, the nanocells won't fix anything already present in a person's body when injected. With the Genophage being a pre-existing condition, it's highly unlikely."

For a minute I thought Wrex was ready to launch a Warp attack point blank at me, but while I tensed up for what I thought would be a brawl, Wrex actually relaxed a bit.

"Damn... Thought it would have been too easy..." Wrex grumbled.

"I'm sorry Wrex, but I don't have the answer you were looking for." I offered.

"Bah," Wrex spat, "It's my own damn fault for getting my hopes up... Although you can tell me more about that crazy canon you cooked up." Wrex said gesturing to the Athena.

"What do you want to know about it?"

"For starters how does it work?"

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

After regaling Wrex in how rail guns and coil guns were developed back in the 2020's, the advantages and disadvantages of the GK-8 that led me to design the AM-1, and how this AM-1 was different from what I originally planned, Wrex said "You think like a Krogan Mitchell. When something doesn't work the way you want it to, you make it so it does no matter what."

Once Wrex left to grab some food, I was able to get the design down for the Athena's carrier on the nanosuit. It would have to be on the opposite shoulder of the assault rifle rack, but it would allow for more mobility.

_Now that I think about it, I really only need a rack for the Athena, an Assault Rifle, and a handgun. If anything comes in close enough to warrant shotgun use, something's wrong. Maybe adding a couple knife sheaths would be better..._

With that the Omni-plant got to work, giving an ETA of an hour. Once I checked my Omni-tool, I still had 2.5 hours to burn, although we had yet to make the second relay jump. _Eh... Got a little time to burn yet..._ So I made my way over to Ash, who was busy stripping an assault rifle down to clean it.

"Hey Ash, how's weapon maintenance going?" I asked to get her attention.

Before she responded, she quickly ran a cloth with some grease down the rails that allow the rifle to collapse to its smaller form and quickly reassembles the gun. "Not too bad," She replies, "These Spectre grade guns hardly need recalibrating, and they are put together in such a way that you could probably fire it till the ammo block depletes and it would still function."

I gave an appreciative whistle, "Nice, so how many rounds does an ammo block contain?"

"Depends on the firing conditions its being used in, but a well accepted number is 2500."

I shake my head at that, "Damn... If we had that kind of tech back in the day, it would have made so many missions so much easier."

"Yeah yeah Gramps, next thing I know you're going to be telling me about how you had to walk fifteen miles to school, uphill, and both ways!" Ash cracked.

"Well... That fifteen mile part is sort of true, but I didn't have to walk. I drove my own car every morning to school before dawn, went to either sport practice or work, and drove back home generally after dark."

"I get the idea, just don't start telling me any stories about your glory days" Ash said, giving up the fight.

"Speaking of which..." I started, "Have you heard anything from your mom?"

"Give me a sec and let me look..." Ash brought up her omni-tool, pressed a view buttons and brought up her messages, "Sure enough, she just sent a copy of an image she found in one of the old family albums with the message that says she hopes it helps and to let her know what's going on." Ash then adjusted her display to show me the picture her mom had sent.

As soon as I saw it, I felt like my skull was a size too small for my brain. The picture showed me on a knee, Sarah's left hand in mine as I slipped a ring on her finger...

* * *

**Outside of Vandenberg AFB**

**California**

**2020**

With the Pentagon and CryTech going over the specifics of the Athena project, General Hawk said I could take a week's leave.

"_Mitchell, you eat, sleep, work, and socialize on base unless on a mission. I think it's about time you go out to your off-base apartment and think about what you are going to do about Sarah." _were his exact words. The fact that he called in a couple MP's to make sure I made it off base and forbade all the entrance guards from letting me back on until a week later sort of forced my hand.

Once I got to my apartment, I decided to call Sarah up and talk to her about her work. We talked for a couple hours about random mundane things: politics, new tech coming out, our current favorite movies and music, and the like until she said she had to go to sleep.

"_Hey Ryan... It's getting a little late, and I need to be up early in the morning... How about I come on over to your place when I'm done with work?" _She asked sleepily.

"Yeah sure sounds like a plan..." I answered without thinking.

"Ok then..." She then gave a long yawn to drive home the fact that she was tired, "Good night Ryan..."

I paused for half a heart beat before I quickly asked, "Sarah... Before you go... I just want to know... Where do you see yourself in the future?"

There was an awkward pause from her end, most likely trying to think of a good answer.

Finally, when I swore my heart felt like it would pound itself out of my chest she answered, _" I honestly don't know Ryan... Let me sleep on it, kay?"_

"Yeah... Sure thing..." I replied in a quieter voice "Good night Sarah..."

"_Good night Ryan"_

Once she hung up, the words of Hawk repeated themselves in my head over and over again. I stayed up all night with my favorite radio station cranked up loud enough to keep the neighbors awake, if I had neighbors that is, going over in my head what I should do.

When the sun finally began to peak out over the horizon, my resolve strengthened. I got cleaned up, and left my apartment so I could arrive at the local mall when the shops all opened up. I finally knew what I had to do, and nothing was going to stop me.

**Hollywood, CA**

**August 16th**

**2020**

When Sarah had finally gotten done with work, she came over just like she said she would. After a warm hug and couple 'I missed you's I told her I was going to take her somewhere to eat, and that she had to be blindfolded.

What she didn't realize until I had gotten to our destination was that I had booked the entire restaurant for the evening using the money I hardly ever used from my combat/hazard pay. With Sarah in a semi formal dress that she wore to work, and myself in my casual fatigues, we made our way inside the hotel where the restaurant was. The restaurant itself was a balcony restaurant that gave a great view of every major tourist attraction in Hollywood.

It wasn't until she was sitting down that I allowed her to take off the blindfold. When she did, she was greeted by the grand sight of the iconic Hollywood sign lit up in the night off in the distance.

"Oh... My... God..." Were the only words she could muster while all I could do was simply laugh.

After making some small talk about how I managed to book the restaurant and other small details, our dinner arrived and we simply enjoyed each other's company. When we finished our meal, the restaurants in house band came out to play, and the dance floor lit up. I stood up and offered Sarah my hand, which she gladly took.

The band played a variety of music, jazz, Latin, everything that could be danced to. After awhile though, they finally slowed it down to a more appropriate pace and Sarah and I began to slow dance.

"So... How did I do?" I ask as I lead Sarah around the dance floor in a slow swaying motion.

"Ryan... I don't know what to say..." she stammered. "This is the most fun I've had in years, just the two of us without a care in the world. Though I can't help but ask myself 'why would Ryan do this?'..."

"Well... Remember what I asked you last night?"

"Yeah... Where do I see myself in the future... I still don't know... What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything Sarah... I stayed up all night asking myself the same question, wondering where I was going to go when I finished my career in the military. All I've known for almost half my life now has been the horror of war... Blood... Death... Agony... Fear... Last night I realized though that there was something else that I knew of for even longer... You..."

"Me? What are you getting at Ryan?"

I stopped our dancing for a moment and went down on a knee, "Sarah, out of all the chaos in the world you have been my guiding beacon. Without you I don't know where I'd go... When I asked myself where I thought I'd be in the future, I kept coming back to the same conclusion... I could be anywhere in world, as long as it was with you..." As I reached back to grab a small box from my pocket, I could hear Sarah give a surprised gasp. I opened up the box to reveal a full 1 carat diamond set in a platinum ring with gold trim, if Sarah could look any more shocked I'm pretty sure she could have died. "Sarah ******... Will you marry me?" I asked.

Sarah took a moment to gather herself before she could say anything. Finally, she did, "YES! Ryan I will marry you yes!" Before I could even get the ring fully on her finger, I barely register the flash of a camera going off as she lifted me up off my knee so she could kiss me. The last time we kissed with such a passion was back in high school as hormone driven teenagers.

When we finally broke our kiss, it seemed like everything was going to be ok...

Until the government issued cell phone I always carry on me went off. Only two people had its number, Hawk and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Being the number one para-rescuer and combat controller had its perks and demands, more often than not the demands outweighed the perks.

"Don't answer it..." Sarah pleaded, with a begging look in her eyes.

"... I have too..." I reluctantly said, breaking the hug we were in. "Master Sergeant Mitchell, authorization Romeo-Mike-Nadazero-Terrathree-Niner, unsecure line."

"Sorry to cut your ordered leave short Ryan," Hawks voice came in, "But we have got a shit storm brewing over in the Philippines..."

* * *

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

As the small flash back finally fades, I find myself being supported by Ash.

"Hey Gramps you ok?"

"Yeah... Yeah I'm fine..." I lied, my head felt like it was trying to crush itself. "Just give me a minute."

"Alright, take it easy. I don't want to lose another father figure anytime soon."

"That's not likely to happen Ash, I promise." I said as I moved her away from me so I could stand on my own. I started walking to make sure I was ok, and found myself standing next to the Mako. The sleek tank that I made even more deadly looked like it was ready to drive off the Normandy on its own. As I looked it over, I saw Garrus' feet and legs were hanging out the bottom. Remembering the idea I had gotten from him, I climbed on top of the Mako and began studying its layout again. If there was going to be a secondary gunner's position, it would need to be located in the spot where Wrex's heavy duty seat was. If done properly, a modified AM-1 could be attached to a swiveling o-ring mount and be able to pack itself away in the armor of the tank until needed.

_The only real issue would be ammo and being deadly accurate with what ammo was available... It would have to be a last resort weapon... _Then another idea struck. The element zero core in the Mako builds up static electricity and eventually that needs to be discharged. _If only there was a way to weaponize that charge..._

"Oh, hey Mitchell," Garrus' distinct voice broke my concentration, "What are you doing up there?"

"Nothing much... Just thinking of a way to make this thing even more lethal. I'm surprised that you didn't hear me jump on top."

"Well between running calibrations on the thrusters and the music I had playing on my visor I'm not surprised really."

I raised my eyebrow at that, "Your visor can play music?"

"Well... Originally it couldn't but it can now" Garrus gave me what I assumed was the Turian equivalent of a smile, mandibles slightly flared and his 'lips' curved upwards. "The original visor was made for humans, and I took the Turian version and how you humans say 'beefed it up'. It has a 100x zoom, integrated target tracking, wind/gravity compensation, SONAR/LADAR/EM/Thermal targeting. It can also measure biofeedback on a target within 10 meters, biotics up to 100 meters. The features I added in are the ability to track kills between teammates and being able to back trace incoming fire... Oh and of course the music."

"Damn... Something tells me that C-Sec didn't exactly pay for that..."

"No they didn't, I saved a year's worth of pay to get the damn thing but it was worth it."

"Tell me a bit about your time at C-Sec Garrus. All I know is that you were a detective."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you can imagine what a detective's life is like. Even though I was on the Citadel, the scum of society were still there it's just that everyone else just usually ignored that fact. I did a lot of investigations into red sand dealers, gangs/mercs, even had a case involving a biotic Elcor diplomat who was killing people for their organs."

"No fucking way! Seriously? The galaxy's version of a gorilla not only having biotics but was a modern day Ed Gein?"

"Well if Ed Gein would cut people up and sell their organs on the black market than yeah. That's one thing people don't quite get, even with all the talk about modern medical technology there are people out there who are willing to buy and sell organs. Hell, a single Krogan testicle is worth 10,000 credits. Before you ask, some Krogan believe that having a transplant helps counter the effects of the genophage. Which it doesn't I might add."

"Son... of... a... bitch..." I said shaking my head. _Here I was hoping that when humanity made it amongst the stars shit like that would be non-existent._

"That's not the worst of it..." Garrus continued, "A few months ago, we got a tip that a new organ harvesting operation had started up. We tracked down a shipment, and intercepted it. When the lab's analysis showed that the guy that the organ came from was still alive, we brought him in for questioning. The guy was adamant that he hadn't lost an organ, but when we 'pushed' him he started to convulse so I ordered a full medical examination. It turns out that the man behind the operation was harvesting organs, and then cloned new ones inside of people to be harvested when the organs had 'matured'.

When our lead regained consciousness, we got him to get us the information on the man behind it all. A well known Salarian, Doctor Saleon. I went to his office to ask him some questions, but ended up having to escape a bomb. Saleon grabbed about 20 of his patients, and took them as hostages on his private cruiser. I ordered the cruiser disabled, but the Executor overruled me and said we couldn't risk the hostages or any collateral damage."

"Something tells me that was the straw that broke the camels back for you..." Garrus looked puzzled at the phrase. "Basically you had enough of dealing with the bureaucracy."

"Exactly, you wouldn't believe the amount of paper work I had to fill out for that one investigation."

"I have to ask, didn't anyone bother giving chase to the guy?"

"No, C-Sec let him get away"

"Damn... Why do I get the feeling that you didn't give up?"

"No I didn't. I put out a couple feelers and found out Saleon changed his name to Heart. I also got the transponder code for his cruiser, so if I were to plug it into the Normandy's network I would be able to track him down."

"Well, I'll have to talk to John about that, but that monster needs to be brought to justice."

"I agree, and with you two being Spectres you can give him what he really deserves."

If it were possible I would have collapsed to the floor at that. "Garrus, while I may not know how Spectres operate individually, in my mind just because they are granted the ability to act above and beyond the law does **NOT** mean that they have the right to in order to uphold that same law. Look at Saren, eventually that frame of mind where the ends justify the means **will** catch up to you and it won't be in a good way."

"Surely you can't feel that way Mitchell! What was the earth military like back then that made you feel that way?" Garrus cried out.

"From what I've seen the military and its overall mentality hasn't changed, just where it operates and its equipment. I was trained to protect the very laws that bound me, even if it meant disobeying a direct order from a superior officer. I will up hold the law by following it, and as a Spectre I will only go above that law when left no choice. I recommend that you look up U.S. Military Doctrine and the Geneva Conventions when you get a chance Garrus. It might shine a little light on the subject."

"I... Bu-..." Garrus stuttered, then sighed. "Alright Mitchell, I'll look into it."

"Thanks Garrus, talk to you later. Just remember that everything isn't black and white. There's a lot of grey in our line of work." I said, hoping that Garrus would give some serious thought to the subject about Spectres and why there are rules and laws in the first place.

Having talked to pretty much everyone, the only person I had left was Tali. As I made my way to Engineering, I saw John come down the elevator and make a beeline to Ash. Shrugging it off I continued on my way.

Once in Engineering, I found myself immediately looking at the drive core. After admiring it for a brief period, I saw Tali working at a console nearby. "Hey Tali," I opened up with, "How's it going?"

"Hey Mitchell," Tali spoke, clearly down trodden about something.

"Ok, it doesn't take a genius to figure out something is bothering you. So come on and tell me." I urged her.

"It's nothing really... You must have something better to do..." Tali said trying to brush it off.

"Tali, I wouldn't come down here, start up a conversation with you, and then leave in the middle of it if I had something else that I needed to do. Come on, if you can't tell the guy who saved your life what's bothering you, who could you tell?" I reasoned with a smile on my face.

"Like I said it's nothing... It's just that the Normandy is so quiet at night that I can't sleep."

"That's not uncommon you know. Lots of people like to have some sort of noise or music when the sleep."

"Except on the Flotilla, if the ship is silent that means that something's broken down or worse."

"Ah... I see... That I guess would be a problem for someone who lived almost their entire lives in those conditions..."

"Like I said it's nothing major, I'll adapt to it soon enough."

"Well if you want my recommendation, I'd suggest trying to play some music at night. It may help with the noise problem."

"Thanks Mitchell... Was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

"Nothing in particular... Why don't you tell me a bit about the Flotilla?" I asked, genuinely interested.

While Tali went on an excited story telling rampage, I managed to learn that each ship in the 50,000 plus vessel fleet was literally packed with Quarians. Tali likened it to being in a crowded city during the busiest time of day 24/7/365. She also told me about the Quarians system of government and how they lived. It seemed to me like they perfected the socialist economy concept but managed to have a democratic/representative government system as well. _If only Karl Marx were alive... I'm sure he'd love the Quarians._ When Tali got to talking about their government, she also mentioned that her father was a member of the Admiralty, and as such the expectations for her were set that much higher. After assuring her that she showed her worth in engineering, mainly in figuring out how to use the heat stored in the Normandy's stealth system to help power the Omni-plant that she didn't have to worry.

When her little rampage got to the Pilgrimage, and how they had to bring something of value back, the reasons behind her excitement when she learned of the nanocells was explained. Something that huge would not only benefit the new ship she would serve on, but eventually the entire flotilla. The possibilities she said were endless. As such I directed her to work with Chakwas to help her in cracking the nanocells coding which she jumped for joy at.

Now that I had actually gone around and talked with the ground team, I figured I deserved a little me time. As I made my way back out to the cargo bay so I could hop the elevator back up, I saw that John was still talking with Ash. From what I could tell, both of them were smiling wide. I managed to hear Ash say something about 'Gunny Elleson' and 'goldbricking' which caused John to bend over laughing. With the elevator on its way down, I could see something familiar in Ash's eyes. I turned back to face the elevator door so that John and Ash wouldn't notice my 'eavesdropping'. Thankfully the elevator arrived shortly after, and I hopped in and slammed my fist on the up button. As soon as the door closed, it hit me. _That look in Ash's eye... It's the look Sarah had when I proposed to her... Granted that Sarah had blue eyes and Ash has brown, that look is unmistakable... _I chuckled to myself, and when the elevator finally opened up to the crew deck I made my way to my quarters passing a crewman with some engineering gear who went on into the elevator.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

As Aldman made his way down to Engineering to take care of his shift, he felt like he was being followed. When he got to the elevator, he was forced to wait as it made its way up. His gut instincts told him he was being watched but when he turned around there was no one there. _I'm being too paranoid... The boss said that the DNA augmentation would be flawless, and Aldman didn't have any friends on board... No reason to think that someone's spotted something different._

Finally the elevator arrived, and out stepped Mitchell. Aldman froze to the spot. If he received the order, he was to kill Mitchell, grab the suit and high tail it off the Normandy. However, when he saw Mitchell up close for the first time, he wasn't sure that would be a smart move. The guy was at least six inches taller than him, and looked like he was built for war. Thankfully, Mitchell ignored him and made his way to his quarters.

Letting out an audible sigh of relief, Aldman stepped into the elevator. Just as he did, he got a message on his omni-tool. _Great... Now what does the boss want?_ Just as he was about to open the message and push the down button, he heard a woman cry out "Hold the elevator!". Against his better judgment, Aldman did. As soon as he saw the body the voice belonged to he didn't regret anything. The blonde crewman was visually stunning even in the Alliance standard uniform which was supposed to hide those kind of physical features.

"Thanks, it would have taken forever for it to come back up and I'm late enough for my shift as is." She started off, with a wide smile.

"Yeah no problem, I don't know why the idiot who designed this elevator made it so slow..." Aldman replied. Figuring that the blonde wouldn't say anything more, he opened up the message he got from his boss. It was coded so that only a person who knew the cipher would be able to discern the true message, which was an order to attach an EMP device to the nanosuit in preparation for a strike team to acquire it.

As he reread the message to be sure he got it, the blonde turned and faced him. "You know... I saw you the other night. What were you doing by the Omni-plant?"

_Fuck..._ Thinking quick he spat out, "I helped install it, and I wanted to be sure that it was working properly."

"Hmm... I suppose that is a good answer... For an unobservant idiot..." The blonde replied with a sneer.

"I don't know what you're getting at..." Aldman lied.

"You see... I think that you replaced the real Aldman, you don't walk with the same style nor do you have quite the same iris color." Aldman was stunned... _Who does this bitch think she is?_ "I also think that you and I have a common interest..."

That got his attention. "Oh really? If that's the case why don't you tell me who you work for?" He shot back.

The blonde smiled, "Someone with a lot more connections and resources than I'm sure your boss has..."

"That maybe so, but my boss can and will make your life a living hell if you interfere in his business."

The blonde raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh? And what business is that?..." She asked. Aldman remained silent though, he had given up too much information already. "You know what I think... Our bosses may have the same goals... Why don't we report each other to our respective bosses and see what they say, shall we?"

* * *

**Unknown Space Station**

**Location: Classified**

As he looked out at the nebula his station was currently passing through on its way to its new destination, Jack Harper was sipping his favorite bourbon. Although he hadn't heard the name Jack Harper in a long time, he knew it was for a good reason. Someone had to take on the mantle of being the leader of Cerberus. _The Illusive Man_ was born the day Cerberus began its quest to keep humanity above all other species.

After recently breaking all ties with the Alliance, he knew he would be more reliant on his vast network of front businesses and informants. The risk however would be worth the gain, especially if the reports he'd been getting from his agents were to be believed. Reports of a solider wearing an armor system that increased a humans natural abilities several times seemed to be that of science fiction, but when Agent Dostya sent him her report he knew he had to have it.

Dostya was his second best field agent, Kai Leng being the top, and as such she was assigned to the Normandy SR-1 to gauge what could be improved in the second iteration of the ship Cerberus was currently working on. The report made mention that the solider, a Ryan Mitchell, was picked up in space wearing the armor and when woken up had a severe case of amnesia. Still he was able to operate the suit as well as fight in it.

Jack knew that whatever information Dostya was able to get was most likely not the entire story, which made her ability to intercept the 'demo video' Mitchell sent to the Council all that more important. It not only solidified his need for the suit, but his belief that only humans should retain control of the technology behind it. When a different operative reported that the Council's personal Spectres were assigned to investigate the suit as well, Jack realized that Mitchell needed to be acquired and soon.

As Jack finished off his bourbon, he received an urgent message from Dostya. Apparently there was yet another party aboard the Normandy. It also expanded upon the little bit of knowledge he had, the suit apparently was called a nanosuit.

_Nanosuit... There hasn't been a breakthrough in nanotech in quite some time... Only one company ever had the resources and means..._ _Hargreave-Rasch..._

Not many people knew it, but when Jacob Hargreave died back in 2023, he had a son who was left in the care of Karl Ernst Rasch. Even though the Hargreave-Rasch company eventually became a forgotten memory, Hargreave's descendants made names for themselves under the pseudonym of Grabovich and started the technology firm of DeltaTech. While DeltaTech developed a myriad of various technologies, their most well known devices were their microfusion arrays. The devices allowed for a vast amount of energy to be generated, but that energy was more than what modern capacitors could take, so the arrays were mostly used in heavy weapons, tanks, and ships.

After confirming that he had a secure line, he made a call.

"DeltaTech Home Office, how may I direct your call?" The VI operator's voice came over.

"Jacob Grabovich please." Jack answered.

"Who is calling?"

"Owner of Cord-Hislop Aerospace "

"One moment..."

As he waited for the VI to make the connection, he thought about how to word his approach/accusation towards the man. Hargreave had out right denied anything to Cerberus, believing that the organization had too narrow of a focus. _Maybe this will be the thing that brings him into my hands..._

"Hello Illusive Man... I wonder what events have transpired that led you to calling me of all people... Still want to get me and my company in your 'humans-only' club?" Came the distinct voice of Jacob Grabovich, aka Jacob Hargreave IV.

"I'm sure you and I both know what this call is about. I believe that we both have a common interest in a certain someone." Jack replied, he knew that when dealing with very smart people you had to weave your words together so that they felt like only they knew what was going on while still maintaining control of the conversation.

"HA! The only interest we might share is our desire to make sure humanity survives everything it encounters." Hargreave responded.

"That is not what this call is about. Unlike most of humanity and the galaxy at large, you and I both know what happened 170 years ago. That ancient history is about to rear its ugly head, and depending on what actions are taken, we both stand to benefit from it."

"Enough of the damn double speak Illusive Man! Tell me straight up what you think you know."

Jack took a second to light up a cigarette and take a quick puff, "What I know is that a certain Ryan Mitchell came aboard the Normandy SR-1 roughly a week ago, along with an armor system using technology beyond what is currently available."

"So... It would seem that we both have agents aboard that ship..." Hargreave revealed, "However, you do realize that that suit is my family's property, and since Mitchell operates it so is he."

"From your point of view yes, but when you take into consideration that your ancestor essentially woke the Ceph all property claims go out the window. Your family was discredited by every major government, their technology buried, and all records erased."

"Bullshit, my family is the only reason Earth is safe from the Ceph! We made the hard decision to sacrifice the few to save the many!"

Jack smiled at that, "Your point doesn't fall on deaf ears Jacob, which is why I'm proposing we work together. The technology your family acquired could alter the galactic stage _if_ it's in the right hands."

"I don't need your help. I have very capable facilities and personnel that can handle it."

"True... What you don't have though are the experts to bring Mitchell and the suit in. My agent tells me that your man, while very cleverly disguised, is in no position to neutralize Mitchell and the nanosuit as well as make a getaway."

There was silence on the line as Hargreave thought it over. "That part of the plan is still in the works... What did you have in mind?"

Before Jack could answer, one of his aides came in with a data pad. After reading it, he spoke up. "Jacob, it would seem that Shepard and Mitchell are en route to an experiment I have on Edolus. I need to make sure my contingencies are in place. I will be in contact so we can discuss the acquisition of Mitchell." With that, Jack closed the line. Another one of his rules when dealing with smart people; always be sure to get the last word in

* * *

**Nihlus Kryik's Apartment**

**Citadel**

After a week of being cooped up in the intensive care unit at the Presidium Health Center, Nihlus was glad he was back in his apartment. While it was seldom used, it still served as his own little get away. While the Salarian doctor had told him he still needed some rehab treatments, Nihlus knew some exercises he could do at home. If need be, he could always go to one of the Consorts acolytes for their version of rehab which he hadn't had in awhile.

With it currently being midday, Nihlus was busy cooking up some lunch. Since the bullet had penetrated right next to his spinal column and skull, he had some difficulty preparing the food, but it wasn't completely burnt.

Just as he sat down to eat, there was a knock at Nihlus' door. Bewildered at who would be knocking, Nihlus took his time getting to the door. The knocking grew more incessant, the person on the other side obviously in a hurry.

"By the Spirits have some patience!" Nihlus cried out as he slowly got up and limped to the door. When he opened the door though, there was no one there. "Damn pranksters..." Just as he was about to close it, another Turian came barreling through in full armor. Unable to move fast enough to dodge the surprise attack, Nihlus allowed himself to be lifted up and thrown against the wall to his right.

What surprised Nihlus more was that an Asari and a Salarian also entered and closed the door behind themselves. That's when the Turian holding him spoke up, "Why did you suggest Mitchell to be a Spectre?" At that moment, everything clicked in Nihlus' head.

"Well now... Is this any way to greet your old squad leader?" Nihlus said with a hint of amusement.

"How did y-"

"I know? Easy... Very few people know of my apartment, and even fewer know that I was the one who did recommend Mitchell. So that narrowed it down to Spectres, and then there's the 3 of you. A Turian, Salarian, and Asari squad coming to take on an injured Spectre? Even a Vorcha would be able to figure out that you guys are Spectres and the only ones who would have been available on such short notice to the Council would have been their _favorites_. I may be injured but give me some credit Celsus."

"Keen intellect, discharged from hospital early, willing to antagonize fellow Spectre, mental state questionable." The Salarian Spectre, Nvak, deduced.

"Nice to see you too Nvak, glad to see you haven't been kicked out due to age." Nihlus grunted as Celsus tightened his grip.

"All we came here for was information on Mitchell and why you recommended him to be a Spectre." Spectre K'Ravos spoke up.

"You're looking good as ever Tela, how's your bondmate doing?" Nihlus asked, hoping that she would remember their old key phrase.

Tela then used her biotics to pull Celsus off of Nihlus and replied, "She's doing well, thanks for asking." After Nihlus regained some of his composure she continued, "Now, tell us everything you know."

"To tell you the truth, I honestly don't know much." As Nihlus went into details about how Mitchell appeared out of nowhere, how he awoke with no memories of his past, how he was able to adapt to the translator implant and heal instantaneously, the other Spectres were dumbstruck.

"Interesting... Massive radiation spike, tachyons, would suggest some sort of time travel, purely speculation. Ability to adapt to new technology and heal suggests nanites or something similar..." Nvak went off on his own tangent, while K'Ravos and Celsus continued on with the investigation.

"So what happened when you woke up?" Celsus asked.

"After I was informed of the events that transpired, I received a visitor. Admiral Steven Hackett of the System Alliance showed up and explained Mitchell's background."

"Enough... For all we know you could be telling us this to throw us off!" Celsus shouted.

"Calm yourself... There is only one way to be sure," Tela spoke.

"Great..." Nihlus groaned as Tela approached him.

"Embrace Eternity!" As Tela's mind began to explore Nihlus', she found a rather intriguing memory. An older human dressed in the uniform of an Admiral approached Nihlus in his ICU room.

"_Nihlus... I am Admiral Steven Hackett. Glad to see your ok."_

"_**Cut to the point Admiral, I know you're here for something."**_

"_Not something... Someone... You came into contact with a Master Sergeant Ryan Mitchell on the Normandy during her shakedown run while she was still in the Sol system correct?"_

"_**Yes... How di-"**_

"_I know? Simple... My great-grandfather was Mitchell's CO back in 2020. The suit Mitchell is wearing is a prototype created by a man bent on making sure humanity defeated an alien threat that existed on earth for millions of years. Exactly how Mitchell ended up in space 170 plus years in the future is still speculatory, but he was given a mission to infiltrate the alien's ship. The Ceph, as they were called, found Mitchell while he and another suited soldier were in the ship. Mitchell stayed behind to sabotage the ships power generators and in the process ended up being thrown into the here and now."_

"_**That... Is quite the work of fiction Admiral."**_

"_I thought you'd say that, so I have here the only records of Mitchell's existence and the debriefing of the other solider, call sign Prophet. While I can't give you all the details, Mitchell is in a very precarious position. The reason I am here is to convince you to not only endorse Shepard's Spectre candidacy but Mitchell's as well."_

"_**The Council will never go for it... He is a literal unknown!"**_

"_See that's where I think your wrong... If Mitchell's background profile is accurate, then he'll end up giving them a reason to. If anything, the Council knows that if they launch a full investigation of Mitchell, that it would look bad on them and the only way they could do it would be to have him as a Spectre so that another Spectre could investigate him."_

"_**You really thought this through didn't you? Why?"**_

"_Let's just say that I am trying to make sure that Mitchell and his suit don't end up in the wrong hands..."_

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Satisfied Tela?" Nihlus asked as soon as he felt the mind meld end.

"By the Goddess... It shouldn't be possible..." Tela muttered.

"Well what's the verdict?" Celsus asked impatiently.

Tela took a moment to compose herself before starting. "Mitchell was born 193 years ago, but is 32 years old physically due to an alien technology beyond our comprehension he was thrust forward through time. He is Special Forces trained, equivalent of the Alliances N7 program, with more than his fair share of combat experience." While in the meld, she was able to briefly scan Mitchell's mission reports, and it astounded her that when the Turians and Humans made First Contact, it was actually Second Contact for the humans. However, how the general public did not know about it was something else entirely.

"Was there any technical data for the suit?" Nvak asked, simply to check.

"No..." Nihlus answered. "Hackett didn't give me any data on the suit, he only let me read Mitchell's service record and mission reports. If those reports are accurate, and combined with the nanosuit, he could very well take on all of you without breaking a sweat."

At that moment, Celsus sucker punched Nihlus in the gut. "That's for being weak and allowing not one but two humans join the Spectres..." Celsus then turned and made to leave the apartment.

Nihlus did his best to get back the breath Celsus knocked out of him. When he did, he spoke as loud as he could. "Shepard and Mitchell are shining examples of what not only humans can be, but what everyone should aspire to be."

Tela bent down, and gave Nihlus a dose of medigel. Whispering she said, "You know how he is... Ever since he lost his father to a human pirate..."

"I know Tela... If you somehow manage to catch up with Mitchell... Keep him away from the Council... There is no telling what could come... If the technology behind the suit... came out into the light..." Nihlus coughed out.

"Yes of course," Tela looked around and saw that Nvak had left. She then turned back and gave Nihlus a kiss, "I'll be back as soon as I can... My bondmate... "

* * *

**Normandy SR-1  
En route to Artemius Tau Cluster  
Current location Hades Gamma Cluster, Antaeus System**

Having just jumped the Normandy from the Attican Beta cluster via the Hercules Relay, Joker got a report from Engineering asking if there was a suitable planet nearby for a discharge of the drive core. While they had some time yet before it absolutely had to be discharged of its built up static electricity, Joker had a gut feeling now would be a good time to do it.

"Hey Pressly!" Joker called back to the Navigator via the PA, "are there any good planets in this system for us to do a drive discharge?"

"Scanning now..." Pressly answered. As he manipulated the Normandy's sensor grid to detect a suitable magnetosphere for the discharge, he picked up an emergency beacon coming from the planet Trebin.

"Joker! Get the Commanders up here now!" Pressly recognized the encryption as that of Council authorities, and immediately opened up the Comm lines.

"_This is Spectre Kaira T'Suni of the 517th Commando Unit and the AMF Akina! We were ~~ambushed by mercenaries and we were forced to land. The drive core has been disabled and we need assistance NOW!_" came a women's voice over the comm line.

Shepard got to the CIC in time to hear most of the transmission and immediately went to Pressly's console to use his comm link.

"This is Spectre John Shepard, Commander aboard the Normandy SR-1. Spectre Ryan Mitchell and I are prepared to assist."

The line went silent for a bit, "_When did humanity get two Spectres?_"

Mitchell, who had made it to the CIC shortly after Shepard did, responded "We don't have time! We'll explain later, now just tell us what you need us to do."

"_All right, sounds like a plan. The mercs have a heavily modified cruiser in orbit. Once you take that out, they have a base to our south east and every last one of them are on their way to our position. So if you manage to take out the cruiser quickly, we could use the help down here._"

"Roger that T'Suni, Shepard and Mitchell out" Shepard said as he closed down the channel. "Sound general quarters!" the entire CIC then was bathed in a red light as klaxons started going off.

"Crew to battle stations, repeat crew to battle stations!" Pressly ordered via the PA.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_Time to see how the Normandy handles its first space battle_I thought to myself. As we approached the planet, we engaged the stealth systems, although it didn't seem any different from normal.

"Alright we have the cruiser in scanning range... They don't know we are here by the looks of it..." Pressly announced.

"Yeah but do you see that hunk of junk! Its registration ids it from before First Contact! How it managed to take out an Asari military frigate is beyond me." Joker responded.

Tali's voice came over the PA next, "Commanders, after looking at the scans, I was able to determine a weak point in the cruiser. Due to the heavy modifications they made, they were forced to make the sublight drives modular and attached to the outer hull on a separate section. If we can get a clean shot at that section, it would separate the cruiser from its only source of thrust rendering it dead in the water."

"Great idea Tali, but would we be able to break through their kinetic barriers, make the shot and get out of there before they realize we're here?" I asked.

"Not likely..." came her reply. I furrowed my brow in thought.

"Ryan... What are you thinking?" was John's only question.

After smiling, I said, "Do we still have the armor I used on the Citadel?"

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

"If you're going for originality Ryan, I'm pretty sure you did this one already" John said as I stepped into the Normandy's airlock. I had grabbed the N7 armor I wore on the Citadel mostly so I could use the magnetic boots. As the outer door opened, I could tell that the Normandy was only using it's kinetic energy from before it activated it's stealth systems as it drifted closer to the planet.

"Nah, it's not about originality, but style." I said as I began to walk across the hull of the ship. When I got to the small view ports by the cockpit, I gave Joker and John a small wave.

John just shook his head while Joker made some comment off the comm line to which John laughed. Before I looked back at my target, I saw something blue come flying into the cockpit.

_**RYAN! What are you doing? **_I heard Liara's voice in my head.

_Oh nothing much, just getting ready to take down some mercs who are harassing a fellow Spectre and her crew... How did you sleep?_I stated calmly.

_**Fine thanks to you, but why must you insist on putting yourself in danger like this?**_

_It's either I risk my neck, or risk the entire ship. Not a hard decision on my part._

"Alright Ryan, get ready for release in three... Two... One... NOW!" John ordered into the comm line and I disengaged the magnets on the boots, causing me to drift toward the cruiser as the Normandy halted. The Normandy had been using it's massively disproportionate mass effect drive to create an empty bubble to fall into so it could maintain its stealth systems, thus remaining unseen to the Mercs sensors.

The cruiser as I got closer looked like it had seen better days. There were spots on the hull where you could see the differing paint schemes. The oldest by far was that I saw from the Turian Citadel defense fleet, and then there were various other custom paint jobs along with hastily welded armor plating.

Thankfully, I didn't have to worry about drifting off into deep space this time since Tali had done several calculations to ensure that I would end up right on top of the cruisers sublight engine section. It was just like Tali had described, the thrusters had been removed from the main section and put back on in a separate section with numerous connecting conduits back to the main hull.

_Well then... This should be fun... _I thought as I attached to the hull with the magnetic boots. "John, I'm on their ship and Tali's description was right. This ship looks like a POS, a couple shots with the AM-1 and this thing will be dead in the water."

"Copy that Ryan, fire at will." I could tell that John was smiling like a madman when he said that.

"Copy that, proceeding to BITFUBAR" I replied. There was only silence on the other end of the line._ I'd be surprised if anyone on board the Normandy could figure that one out_.

I unslung the Athena from my back, and aimed it at the one point that was holding the engines to the hull and fired. The results were immediate. A shower of sparks and shrapnel exploded from where the junction used to be. With the main engines disconnected from the ship, all I had to do was push the cruiser and the engine mount away from each other and the cruiser began to head down to the planet. _Gotta love Newtonian physics_.

Apparently, a standard mass effect core doesn't provide any forward locomotion. It only increases or decreases the mass of a ship as well as providing the artificial gravity. So with their primary thrusters permanently disabled, the ship would no longer be able to maintain orbit and  
eventually fall into the planet's atmosphere.

As I stood on the now free floating engine section, the Normandy then came in close enough for me to jump into the airlock.

***DN7*DN7*DN7***

"Alright" I said as I pulled off the hard suits helmet, "What do we know about the situation on the ground?" John, Pressly, and Liara were all up in the cockpit with Joker taking us down to the planet. John was looking over Joker's shoulder, checking something out. Pressly was going over something in his data pad, and as soon as I looked at Liara she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Alright, according to the ground scans we got, the Akina made a sizable trench when it crash landed. The crew is holding off the mercs quite well by using the ship and the trench as cover even though they are outnumbered. We did find a base to their southwest as well as numerous vehicles both air borne and land based heading to their position." Pressly reported.

"Well... It certainly seems like these mercs had a score to settle with this group in particular." John commented. "Liara, have you ever heard of the 517th Asari Commando squad?"

Liara broke her hug with me, and turned to face John."Unfortunately I have not. Although since their leader is a Spectre that may be a reason why."

"Makes sense I guess..." John said."But what doesn't make since is what you said earlier Ryan."

I let out a good laugh, "BITFUBAR? Come on! Don't tell me you can't figure it out!" All I got in response was blank stares. "Tell you what, whoever figures it out first gets a drink on me next shore leave. Now..." I finished and clapped my hands together, "John let's plan this assault out."

* * *

**Trebin, Antaeus System, Hades Gamma  
AMF Akina Crash Site  
517th Commando Unit  
Forrest Jackson POV**

I ducked back down into the freshly dug trench as a missile narrowly missed my head - again. The other three commandos were hunkered down to my right, our frigate unceremoniously lying in the dirt to the left. Thanks to the mercenaries, we had been forced into planetary orbit… and then at the last second, they had scored a hit to critical systems – sending the Akina down into this valley. On the bright side, the rough crash had dug up a meter and a half deep trench. Now, that was the only thing between us and a whole company of them.

Contractor mercs. Time didn't change much. We fought them the same nearly a hundred and seventy years ago… and here we were today, battling it out again. At least this time there was the normal Asari crew of our frigate to pitch in; although most were nothing more than ship workers. But every assault rifle pointed back at our assailants evened the odds.

Time hadn't changed our team much, either. Still three Asari…and one human. The rest of the fire team remained together over the years of absence, simply aging. When I had gotten the chance to rejoin the squad just a year ago, I took it. And then hell hit. Our old enemy had resurfaced – or rather, someone had taken the name and colors.

I glanced back over the ledge, shields deflecting several ricochets. In a single motion I swung onto one shoulder, raising the Mattock out of cover and free handing four shots. The closest trooper staggered back as two shots obliterated his shields; the second two punching through the chest of his armor. I watched for just a second more. Unlike the last time, there were humans employed here alongside Turians, Batarians and the occasional Asari – but still they carried the signature grey armor, accented only by the crimson color encasing the right arm clear to the shoulder.

Two more were suddenly pulled into a singularity, with three more sent off balance. As one was sent spinning back from a single assassination shot to the head, a follow-up warp smacked into the other suspended merc. The resulting explosion knocked down several more goons. The one that recovered was promptly hit by an incineration attack, exposed head all too easy of a target for the engineer. I threw my rifle back up, drawing down on a centurion and quickly rattling off shots. After three, his shields flickered – and a different rifle took him down. I scowled as I lined up on the next target… the years had only exaggerated Delina's personality.

Once more I ducked down. Slight movement caught my attention over head… Another truckload of the buggers were flanking back above us – nearly 30 meters above the ground. In an action I had performed countless times before, the heavy rifle slammed over my right shoulder as I switched up to the Scimitar shotgun. I pushed away from the ledge, giving T'Suni a nod before I let my biotics flare to life. My crouch disappeared; in an instant I was in the bed of the truck with the mercs. The initial impact of the biotic charge left the closest stunned and vulnerable to a quick shotgun blast. One heavy quickly began switching to her sidearm – but didn't get that far before I gave her a Spartan kick over the edge. The next trooper swung at me with the butt of his assault rifle. I lunged in underneath the attack, instead carrying his momentum over my back. As a scream from the falling merc registered, I continued my own momentum forward – pressing the shotgun in my right hand under the shields of an enemy sniper. The blast sent him back, leaving but a Legionnaire left. The Batarian let out a roar, kicking my shotgun out of the way before lunging at me…

Unfortunately, he didn't see I had my left hand pulled back. In an instant, my biotics concentrated into a half-meter long blade… unimpeded by shields or armor as it drove through with combined force. The blue energy dissipated as the Contractor merc collapsed next to me. With no time to waste – the truck was already taking off with me on board – I dropped a single grenade and made a running leap for it.

That put me… right above the front line of their forces. Mid air, I switched the Scimitar to my left hand – pulling my right arm back as biotics flared back to life. The drop closed quickly, and with a final burst, more goons were scattered by the biotic stomp. A moment later, an explosion resounded overhead – and the previously flying truck crashed into the hillside. Forming another biotic blade on my left hand, shotgun again in my right, I charged into the next standing merc… just a trooper; a single slash took him down. Continuing such madness, more enemies fell to the combination of melee and firearm attacks…

Until something caught my eye. Grenade. The thought crossed my mind, instantly sending me into a dive for behind the nearest truck. But I didn't quite make it out of range before it went off – downing my shields before I rolled several times. Still laying on my back I glanced back up… a centurion was standing right over me, relishing the upcoming kill.

But another assassination shot cleared through his head, shields and all. I let out a single laugh, rolling once and then making a mad leap for the trench again.

"You haven't changed at all." Kaira noted, shaking her head as she watched me for a moment.

"No… I guess not."

"You're welcome, by the way." Delina snapped, peering around the commander.

I scowled again, trying to think of a retort. "Fine. Thank you. Good job. You want a medal for that?"

"Sure. As long as you're around to keep it shined up."

"Yeah, right. Not happening."

"It better. Or else..."

"Or else what, sis?"

"Enough." Kaira interrupted, rising from cover long enough to barrage the mercs with more biotics and AR fire… and quickly return to cover as LMG fire raked the dirt above her head.

"Sorry, ma'am…" I started, smirking cruelly. "I thought she would have grown up more than this."

The Spectre's glare was enough to provoke an honest apology. This time, I remained silent as T'Suni shouted over. "Rana! Sabotage that machine gun!" I peeked over and saw that the Mercs were setting up a rather large machine-gun, most likely taken from a gunship. I must have made a good target because as soon as they set it up they began firing it at me!

Ducking under cover, I heard Rana shout, "Understood, commander!" With that, at the first pause in the gun fire, the youngest Asari of our squad jumps up with her omni-tool already loaded. A second later, the steady hail of projectiles came to a halt. Without missing a beat, the arms specialist leap up and took a single sniper shot in that direction… and judging by the victorious look on her face, it had hit.

"Crew! How are we holding in?" Kaira yelled above sporadic gunfire.

One of the maintenance crew yelled something in response, but I didn't hear it entirely. Something about no casualties yet? Seemed like… but I was more focused on the three more trucks hovering in. _Well, this day just gets better and better…_

"More hostiles incoming." I reported

Kaira glanced back over the berm, expression unchanging. "Keep hunkered down. They'll run out of troops eventually."

"Hope so." With a shake of my head, I switched back to the Mattock… "Remember that one time back in the day on Thessia? They were far from running out of troops then."

"That does not exactly boost morale!" Rana exclaimed, leaning down more as a grenade went off two meters from the trench.

"Sorry. Just thinking aloud." I responded honestly, popping up long enough to get a good aim on an enemy sniper just hanging back about 50 meters. In five rapid shots, the Salarian went down…and I got a better understanding of what they were doing. Finally, the Contractor forces had figured out that bull-rushing a squad of commando specialists - adept, soldier, engineer…and vanguard – was a bad idea. Now the bastards were just plinking at us while more reinforcements arrived…

"Damn. I thought they didn't know what they were doing." Delina muttered between shots.

"They won't last." The commander looked to me for a moment before adding "Just don't get shot and everything should be fine."

I lobbed another grenade over the embankment, trying now to conserve my energy. With any luck, we would be able to last longer than these goons… With that thought fresh in my mind, I raise up just high enough for the heavy rifle to keep going 'boom,' dropping a Centurion who strayed too far from cover.

Just then, something in the sky caught my eye. A bigger ship, still at a good altitude… but I could make out a rather long and slender build. And yet… it just passed by. I smacked the side of my head twice, making sure this wasn't the side effect of medigel or battle fatigue... but it wasn't. The frigate quietly disappeared back into the clouds.

_Weird._

The roar of thrusters reaches my ears and I looked back to where the ship originally appeared to see a M-35 tank barreling towards the surface… _Wait, are these the reinforcements Kaira said might be coming?_I thought for a moment as I watched the descent angle line up with the Contractor company.

And with the explosion of one truck, the tank slammed into the very middle of their forces. I took a potshot at a regular trooper who decided to flee towards us… And judging by the mercs' reaction, things just got changed up.

The mercs, surprised by the sudden appearance of the tank, all turned to fire on it. That gave us an opening to unleash hell on them. Between some impressive driving and gunning of the tank crew and the well placed shots coming from the Akina's crew, the remaining Contractor Mercs were dealt with in an orderly fashion.

"Commander... Who exactly did you talk to for back up?" I asked as the tank rolled out of its landing/kill zone and began to drive towards us.

"Commanders John Shepard and Ryan Mitchell of the Alliance. They said that they are both Spectres... I would have thought the Council might mention that to the rest of us." Kaira answered.

The tank stopped a short distance away from the Akina and its top hatch opened up. The armored figure of a Krogan, a Turian, an Asari, and something that resembled a human male climbed out. The human almost looked like a robot, but as I looked closer he was wearing an armor that looked like a detailed model of the human muscle groups in a flat black sheen with a blood red eyeport. Apart from being a nearly opposite color, it was definitely reminiscent of the visor of my long gone assault hood…A sleek, single lens.

What was more impressive was the giant cannon he had on his back along with the assault rifle, hand gun, and several knifes.. When the group had disembarked, the tank drove off in the general direction of the Contractor base.

The Krogan and Turian both had weapons in their arms, but not aimed at us more like they were watching the perimeter, while the Asari and assumed human had nothing in their hands. Delina wasn't taking any chances though and had her sniper rifle lined up on someone.

The humanoid figure the spoke up, "Don't fire, we're here to help!"

"Identify yourselves!" Kaira ordered

"Lt. Com. Ryan Mitchell, Spectre. With me are Liara T'Soni, Urdnot Wrex, and Garrus Vakarian. Commander Shepard and I heard that you were having some Merc trouble and decided to stop by and see if we could help." he answered back.

Kaira hesitated for a bit. Finally she wove to the Akina's crew, signaling to lower their weapons. "Glad you were able to help! Although I am surprised that you managed to take out that cruiser that quickly."

Mitchell shrugged. "Let's just say I have a rather unconventional style of getting things done. Now...before we landed we managed to get a good scan of the area. These Mercs are sending a trio of tanks as well as numerous air trucks full of troops. Shepard is currently taking the rest of our team to the base to deal with anything there with the tank, while we will hold off the assault. How are you and your crew holding up Spectre T'Suni?"

"Nothing serious for injuries, mostly just some cuts and bruises from the crash landing. We have plenty of guns to hold off the Mercs, but how do you propose we deal with the tanks?" Kaira asked.

"No kidding, that oversized sniper rifle won't do shit." Delina commented quietly to me.

"How do you expect to help?" Rana asked, directing her attantion to Mitchell, "I'm not detecting any eezo on your armor, you will be at a severe disadvantage."

Hedidn't respond, only turned around as if he was ignoring her. What appeared to be a blue colored omni-tool lit up for a second then shut down."No time to explain! Everyone to cover and ready weapons!" Mitchell dove into the trench in one step, and was quickly followed by the rest of his team. "Garrus, counter snipe! Wrex, do what you do best! Liara I want you to concentrate on any biotics in their ranks. I'll be laying down plenty of fire to keep the big threats down!" he ordered as his team got into the trench and pulling out his own gun. "T'Suni, think your squad can manage taking down what we don't?"

"We're about to find out Mitchell!" Kaira fired back, prepping her weapons. "Crew! Don't waste time with heroics! Just take what shots you can!"

I looked to the sky and saw roughly 6 trucks, each filled with more Mercs. "Wonderful" I groaned as I settled in for the long haul and checked out our reinforcements. "Hey Delina, did you see all of their gear?" I asked, having just noticed myself.

"No. Was it really that impressive?" she replied as she lined up a shot with her rifle.

"Maybe... It's all Spectre X series... Even their handguns."

That got her attention, "Bullshit. How could anyone afford to outfit an entire squad with ~~Spectre grade gear? Hell, not even Kaira could do that!"

"Yeah, well… Don't underestimate us humans!" I teased.

"Suuuure…"

Before we could argue further, the mercs' trucks landed and the goons began to spread out and laying down some cover fire. "I don't know. Ask them later if it means so much to you!" I snapped as I lined up my own shot with the Mattock.

"Maybe Rana could give us some… _insight_." Delina shot back as I ducked back into cover. At the mention, I took a quick look and saw that Rana was doing something with her omni-tool.

"But how do you avoid suit punctures? Surely you make yourself a rather inviting target when not in cover?" I barely heard Rana ask Mitchell. I shook my head out of dull amusement…as if there had ever been a better time for such study.

"Believe me... He's been through more with that suit than a few measly mercs." the blue armored Turian, Garrus I think his name is,answered… right before he sniped his own target..

"Fucker! That was my kill!" I heard Delina bark from behind me.

Garrus only shrugged and went back to lining up another shot… although I was pretty sure he was at least chuckling.

"Well, get what you give, Delina…" I replied, only receive the usual death glare.

"Yeah, well at least…" she started, before quickly aiming and letting off another shot, then looking back. "Hey! Where the hell did he go?"

I turned around as well, and while everyone from the Akina was firing at whoever they could hit, the new arrivals were firing in a distinct pattern. As I scanned the battlefield for any trace of Mitchell, I saw what they were doing.

Earlier in the fight, we managed to force down a truck before it could retreat. Behind its wreckage, a long distance team was setting up shop. 2 snipers and 2 heavies were doing an excellent job of working together and using the crashed truck as cover. A rocket would fire, and a sniper would line up a shot for when the defenders would pop back up. If there were more of them, then we as the defenders would have been in trouble.

Before I could inform Kaira of the situation, I saw the black shape that was Mitchell appear out of nowhere right beside the left most sniper. Before the mercs could do anything, Mitchell grabbed the rifle directly from the snipers hands and proceeds to use it as a club to beat the sniper over the head.

With the first sniper down, he threw the rifle at the other sniper, again hitting him in the head. The heavies had finally taken notice of Mitchell, and turned to fire a rocket at him.

"Oh shit!" I hear Delina cry out "He's done for!" I ignore her as I watch Mitchell take a step back and crouch down. The closest rocket wielding Merc took the chance to fire a rocket at him and shot for the spot where his feet met the ground.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the rocket barreled it's way to Mitchell. When it was halfway, Mitchell jumped into the air faster and higher than humanly possible. The other rocket goon was busy going for his sidearm, while the one who shot the rocket just looked up at the falling form of Mitchell in disbelief. Mitchell, while in the air, pulled out his assault rifle, and unleashed a hail of bullets on the Merc. In a flash, the Merc went down from multiple shots to the face and neck... Mitchell was on the ground.

The remaining goon let out a roar, and let his own assault rifle off the chain. Mitchell didn't go for cover, or even duck. Rather he started walking slowly towards the Merc. The bullets that did hit Mitchell didn't faze him, and the said shots became more and more panicked and wild. When his assault rifle finally over heated Mitchell was close enough to throw a punch. Instead he back handed the Merc so hard that he went flying ten feet. When the Merc landed, he didn't get back up. I looked around and saw that the remaining Mercs were taken care of by everyone else.

"That... Was... Impressive..." I heard Rana say quietly. I looked back to see where Mitchell was at, but he somehow already crossed the distance from the crashed truck to the trench. I looked to see Delina's reaction and she had her usual distrustful glare. Looking towards Kaira all I saw from her was approval.

By the time Mitchell had made it back to the trench, one of the Akina crew members yelled out something about tanks incoming. Looking to the horizon, 3 distinct dust clouds were approaching.

"Aww hell..." I heard Delina mutter "Now would be a good time to know what that giant rifle is on Mitchell's back."

As I looked around, the situation only got worse. Biotics weren't enough to take down a tank, and none of our crew carried heavy weapons… Same went for the crew of the Normandy. Sans Mitchell, who had disappeared again. _How in the world does he do that?_

"**T'SUNI! GIVE UP NOW AND YOUR CREW WILL BE SHOWN SOME MERCY AT THE HANDS OF THE CONTRACTOR!**" The loudspeaker from one the tanks erupted, drawing everyone attention.

Kaira turned around and looked each of the Akina crew members in the eyes, as if to gauge our thoughts. Before she could reply, an equally loud voice boomed from behind and above us.

"YOU GUYS MUST BE THE DUMBEST BUNCH IDIOTS IN THE GALAXY!" Everyone in the trench looked to where the voice came from, but saw nothing.

"**WHO SAID THAT! THEY WILL BE THE FIRST TO DIE!**"

I scanned the upper portion of the Akina's hull, trying to see where Mitchell's voice was coming from. What I saw next astounded me and everyone else; it was like something was materializing out of midair. Like… something emerging from a mirrored lake. In an instant, the supersoldier had completely reappeared, sniper-cannon already in hand.

"LIKE I SAID... IF YOU CAN'T FIGURE OUT THAT ATTACKING A SPECTRE AND THEIR CREW IS THE DUMBEST MOVE IN THE GALAXY, THEN YOU'LL DO THE GALACTIC IQ A FAVOR BY DYING! I'M GIVING YOU TO THE COUNT OF TEN TO GO BACK TO WHATEVER PITIFUL LIFE YOU CAME FROM, OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!" _Damn... Mitchell sure knows how to provoke his enemies... That bit about counting down is a bit suicidal though..._

"**BWHAHAHA! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH A RIFLE? WE HAVE THREE TANKS ALL AIMING THEIR CANNONS AT YOUR HEAD!**" True to the mercs' word, the tanks all re-aimed their muzzles towards Mitchell. The sound of rounds being loaded could be clearly heard in the silence."**WHEN YOU REACH ZERO, YOU'LL BE NOTHING BUT A PINK MIST SHOWERING YOUR TEAMMATES!"**

I could have sworn I saw Liara flinch at that last comment, but Mitchell stood as still as a rock. In the brief silence I heard a deep laugh coming from the direction of the Krogan, Wrex.

"TEN..."

Everyone was looking back and forth between the tanks roughly 300 feet from the trench, and Mitchell on top of the ship.

"NINE..."

Liara's biotics flared a bit, although she didn't create a barrier around herself or launch any kind of attack. _Weird... I wonder what that's about..._

"EIGHT..."

Mitchell's omni-tool lit up briefly again, but he didn't do anything. He simply stood there. _This guy has got to be the craziest person alive_

"SEVEN..."

"Jackson... What the hell is Mitchell doing? He's going to get himself killed!" Delina hissed to me.

"SIX..."

"How the hell should I know?" I shot back.

"FIVE..."

"'Cuz you're the only one who's done almost as stupid stunts as this!"

"FOUR..."

"Your point?"

"THREE..."

"How's the human saying go? 'Takes one to know one?"

"TWO..."

Yeah… she might have had a point. Although it looked like Mitchell had more of a plan then I usually had. Either way, this was about to go over the top.

"ONE!" As soon as Mitchell said one, the tanks shot all three rounds. I prepped myself for the oncoming explosion... But there wasn't one!

Mitchell had jumped incredibly high into the air and avoided the shells! However, he was taking an abnormally long time to fall. Before I could process how he was pulling off Matrix style moves, three loud cracks followed by the three tanks exploding caught everyone's attention.

The tanks looked like their fronts ends had been completely shorn off by a massive shotgun. And the backs… they were gutted, nothing but broken cores and flames. Any operators went up in the explosion.

When Mitchell finally landed, I could barely hear him say "Zero..." Everyone was silent, either out of shock or awe of the destruction that that one man was capable of. Mitchell stood there for a few moments simply gazing into the firestorm that was the remains of the tanks.

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT?" A shout. I groaned; _Delina would be the first one to break the silence_. Mitchell turned around and doubled over laughing as he put the cannon on his back.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He replied.

"Well... I wasn't quite sure what you meant earlier by 'unconventional style'... Now your reminding me of one of my crew..." Kaira spoke up next as Mitchell walked over to her.

Delina leaned over and whispered to me, "I guarantee there's another reason he carries the monster of a rifle around… It's either skill or size that he's compensating for."

I had to think for a moment before face palming at that one. "Delina... After everything you saw him do, you have to say that?"

Liara turned to look at us from her spot in the trench, "What are you talking about?"

_Oh shit!_ "Oh... Um... We were just… talking about how we need to take care of the base." I quickly dodged, shooting my fellow commando an annoyed look.

"Don't worry," Garrus added, "Just got a message from Shepard, they took care of the base. No one left. Tali managed to get some data for you Spectre T'Suni. They should be here in about 5 minutes."

"Yeah, big fucking heroes. You saved us a few minutes." Delina grumbled to no one in particular.

The crew of the Akina spent the next five minutes packing things up and taking a decent damage assessment. Rana wanted to head to engineering to help, but Kaira told her to wait. So instead, she went over to the Akina's bow to check its primary weapon, an energy cannon the four of us had installed over 170 years ago.

I had just made my way over to her when the sound of another tank coming stopped me. The M35 that deposited Mitchell and his team off had parked next to the trench. The top hatch opened, and a Quarian came out first followed by a woman and two men. The humans wore standard issue Alliance armor while one of the guys had the distinctive white and red commander stripes on the right arm along with N7 on the right side of the chest. _That must be Commander Shepard. Wonder why Mitchell doesn't have the stripes on his armor?_

"Spectre T'Suni?" The N7 soldier called out.

"Yes?" Kaira answered back as she jumped up from the trench, then added: "Spectre Kaira T'Suni."

"Staff Commander John Shepard. With me are Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, 1st Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko, and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. I hope my partner and his part of our squad didn't give you too much of a head ache." Shepard greeted us, smiling at the last bit. By that time, Mitchell and his group had merged with Shepard's and our group was standing in our usual formation behind Kaira.

"What? Me cause trouble John?" Mitchell replied sarcastically. Shepard only shook his head.

"You have quite the squad here, Shepard. Mitchell and his group here did an excellent job, even if certain people are still slightly…bitter." Kaira's emphasis clearly implied Delina. "I could only imagine what would have conspired if your entire squad was here."

"Yeah, we have a tendency of having almost too much firepower." Shepard agreed.

"There is one thing that's bothering me... I've been a Spectre for the better part of 200 years, and in that time, I have never heard of two Spectres being inducted at once, or being the first two for an entire species. What gives?"

Shepard looked to Mitchell, who nodded slightly. "We were inducted just about a week ago, and our mission is of a very sensitive nature."

Rana perked up at that, "That is understandable, but why would the Council not only have two Spectres work on the same case but have those two Spectres be Alliance Commanders on the same ship?"

"Shepard and I developed a bit of a repertoire with each other, we balance each other's tactics out." Mitchell answered.

"Well..." Kaira started, "Although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I'm not going to turn down help when it shows up. Thank you."

"Speaking of which, how is your ship? We can give you and your crew a lift if need be" Shepard asking, gesturing to the Akina.

Rana brought up her omni-tool, and after reading a few lines announced, "The drive core suffered some moderate damage, as did a few secondary systems. They will be repairable with what we have on board, but it will take at least a few days."

Kaira nodded, "Short answer, we're fine. Where are you heading anyway?"

"A planet called Edolus in the Sparta system of Artemis Tau" Mitchell answered.

_Wait, what?_ I thought, jerking my head back in surprise. Luck be damned… that was one hell of a coincidence. Kaira let out an amused chuckle, "So were we…"

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Comm Room**

**Mitchell's POV**

After Joker landed the Normandy so we could load up the Mako, John ordered him to park it for a while and let Henderson take the pilots seat. After threatening to put a limit on his extranet usage, Joker obeyed John's order. He then invited the 517th to come on board the Normandy for a debriefing about what each of us were going to be doing on Edolus.

Unfortunately I was going to be the last one there. After being polite and letting everyone else go first on the elevator, I had to wait for it to come back down, take me up, get out of the nanosuit, take it back down to the Omni-plant for data retrieval and some minor repairs, then head back up to the Comm Room.

When I got to the door I realized that there wouldn't be enough room for everyone in the Comm Room. There was our group of 8, and with only 8 seats available, I was curious as to how the seating arrangements would turn out. When it opened however, the 517th were all sitting on the left hand side, John was in his usual spot, as was Liara. The only deviations were Ash who was sitting in Garrus' usual spot next to Liara and Tali sitting in Wrex's spot.

_John must have requested that Kaiden, Garrus, and Wrex sit this one out... Then why didn't I see them when I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off?_

As soon as I went to my usual spot, I realized something. _The only guys in here are myself, John, and Jackson I think his name is... We're outnumbered by 6 women..._

_**Boo-yah...**_

I chuckled to myself a bit, and Jackson seemed to notice the same thing as well when he joined in. The Asari sitting to his left, Delina I think her name was, rolled her eyes at the two of us which made me laugh harder.

"AHEM!" John pseudo-yelled, "If we could get down to business, I think we are in a position to help you out Spectre T'Suni. If you could explain what your mission is on Edolus, we can see if we can combine forces."

"Alright, and you can call me Kaira. Between Spectres I believe we can go by our given names." Kaira answered.

"In that case, you may either call me John or Shepard." John replied

"Eh... Ryan or Mitchell works for me" I added. "Now that we got that taken care of, what happened with that ambush?"

"Well to talk about that ambush we have to talk about some ancient history first." Kaira responded.

Jackson let out a disgruntled snort while Delina muttered something along the lines of "No shit".

The other Asari, Rana if I remember right, spoke up next. "Back in 2011, our squad here was at odds against a private military force under the command of an individual who called himself the Contractor. After fighting a small war for almost a year, we finally ended his reign of terror with his death."

"Skipping forward over a century, we found out roughly a few weeks ago that another individual found a data cache that belonged to the original Contractor." Kaira picked up. "This new Contractor is attempting to start up what we ended. We recently got a lead that said he had a base on Edolus. We were on our way there when we had to do a drive discharge. Trebin's magnetosphere is the only suitable one in this system, and apparently the Contractor set up that lead as bait to the ambush. That cruiser you took down managed to get a lucky shot off and throw our drive core and shielding offline. We had been fighting their ground forces for about an hour when you responded to our beacon."

_Wait a minute..._

"Excuse me, but from what I understand about the Commando Squads, they're usually entirely Asari. How did you recruit Jackson to be a commando?" Liara asked part of the question I had in my head.

"In the simplest form, we got some information on a new relay connection, and decided to check it out. We observed what is now known as Earth for a while, trying to determine the necessity of first contact. I had hoped to simply sit by without interfering… Unfortunately, some bounty hunters showed up soon after and attempted to take Jackson; naturally we stepped in and stopped them. When it was discovered that he would no longer be safe on Earth, we brought him with us." Kaira answered.

"Why did slavers choose you out of everyone on Earth Jackson?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"For one, I'm a natural biotic." He shrugged. "I still can't explain that part. But... yeah. Those pirates probably had additional motives… but we never found out. Either way, I took the opportunity to join the 517th. The rest… more or less history."

"You were always a threat to everything around you." Delina snapped.

"Your point?" He shot back.

Rana laughed slightly. "You do tend to be reckless with your maneuvers in combat."

"Hey, it worked then, it works now and we made it through hell on several occasions." He defended himself.

"Ryan, I think you found a partner in crime." John added with a smile.

"Your just jealous that I do all the fun stuff John," I replied, which got me a biotically enhanced elbow in the side. The jab sent me off balance a bit, which caused nearly everyone to laugh. After everyone calmed down a bit, I spoke back up, "Jackson, if you don't mind me asking, but how are you still alive? Back then the life expectancy of a human was 75 years."

"Actually... That's something that even I don't know. The last thing I remember was fighting the Contractor, then suddenly I woke up in an Alliance hospital with the Commander, Rana, and Delina there to greet me." Was all the Jackson offered, after which there was some silence.

"We don't know much more." Spectre T'Suni added, "We were separated as the original Contractor's base came down… it is possible that a surviving cell captured him and put him into cryogenic suspension. There were plans for such technologies present in the base databases…"

Jackson made a move as if he was about to say something, but he didn't.

"Ok how about we talk about your ship. What's all needed for repairs?" John asked.

"The Akina's been through worse, but according to the crew we have everything we need to fix her up. It'll take a few days though." Kaira answered.

"Shepard, if yourself, Mitchell and Commander T'Suni are ok with it, I'd like to volunteer to help with the repair work. I have memorized the Normandy's drive core, and with some luck I could make improvements to yours Commander T'Suni." Tali offered immediately.

"Having an extra engineering specialist would help," Kaira said out loud. "Rana, any luck on that data that Tali'Zorah retrieved for us?"

"As a matter of fact yes, we got the precise location for his base. Apparently this new Contractor does not know how to lay a proper trap." Rana replied.

"Alright, so we've shared our side of the story, what's your reason for heading to Edolus Shepard and Mitchell?" Kaira asked.

I stood up a little straighter before answering, "Admiral Kahoku lost contact with a team of Marines at these coordinates." I thought about the coordinates we were heading towards originally, and my omni-tool sprang to life, connected to the holo-projector and displayed the coordinates on a map of the planet's surface. "He asked us to investigate."

"Hmm... According to the data, the base we're after is just west of your target area. If you're willing Shepard and Mitchell, we could team up and help each other on our missions." Kaira offered.

I shrugged in response, "Why not? It'd be nice to see how another Spectre works."

"How would we get everyone down to the surface though? Working in that kind of terrain requires the Mako, and while your improvements lets us seat 8, I'm pretty sure you're not going to find a way to fit 12 people in that thing" John pointed out.

"Wait..." Rana perked up, "How many was it made to seat originally?"

"3-5 depending on the individual's size" I replied. Rana's eyes went wide. _Um... Ooookay..._

"We could use jump packs... Just like the good old days." Jackson pointed out.

Kaira gave him a nod. "That seems like our best option… We can go pick them up after the debriefing."

"Alright, we'll plan out the assault when we get closer to the planet. Pressly, what's our ETA?" John called out.

"As soon as we get moving again, 2 hours Commander" Pressly answered.

"Sounds good." John replied. "Kaira, Rana, Delina, Jackson, we have a spare room available if any of you feel the need to rest. Otherwise make yourselves comfortable and feel free to explore." He then turned to our group, "Crew dismissed."

As everyone stood up to leave, Kaira went over to John and asked in a low voice "I'd like to speak with you in private John if you could." John simply nodded and gestured her ahead.

Delina waited for a few seconds before making a beeline for me and saying "Mitchell, there had better be a good reason for your carrying a damn _cannon_ on your back." That caused Jackson to laugh for a moment until Delina sent him a death stare which he promptly quieted – and then proceeded to silently mock her once her back was turned.

"Ash, take her down to your work area and give her the basics on the AM-1... Something tells me that you two will get along great." I added with a smile.

In response Ash rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah Gramps... Come on Delina I'll show you that BFG." When Ash called me Gramps, everyone of the 517th had a look of confusion on their faces.

Rana however brushed the initial confusion off. "Perhaps it would be alright for Jackson and I to take a look through engineering?" She asked.

"The drive core makes up most of engineering. I'm not sure you'll want to spend all your time in there." Tali answered.

"There should be room by the omni-plant and that they can use as a work station. Tali can you show them?" I asked and Tali responded by gesturing them to follow her.

_**Well then... It would seem we have some time to our selves then... Would you like to accompany me to my office?**_ Liara's voice sang in my head.

_Liara... I'm not sure that we can call the med-bay storage room an office..._ I mentally laughed, which brought a grin to Liara's face. We were the last two to leave the Comm Room, and as we exited I added, _How about we go to my quarters instead? _I offered her my arm, which she gladly took and rested her head on my shoulder while we walked down.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

As soon as John let Kaira into his personal quarters, he grabbed the bug scrambler from his pocket and activated it.

""You have given me no reason to distrust you or your crew, but I do not see how the Council could make such a bold move in inducting two Spectres at once – and then assigned them to the same case." Kaira started out, pausing for just a moment. "From what I understand of Alliance rank, Mitchell was even your subordinate prior to this. Nothing I have seen today makes sense. Especially not Spectre Mitchell's armor."

John, keeping cool, replied "That's fair. This has all been under dire circumstances. Now, do you want the extremely short version of Mitchell's background and our mission?"

"It would be one less thing keeping me awake at night."

"Alright, you said that you saved Jackson in 2011 right?" Kaira nodded. "In 2013, Ryan participated in the third largest armed conflict to envelope Earth. Back then he was a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force 720th Special Tactics Group. He specialized in jumping into behind enemy territory to retrieve a target as well as calling in air strikes while working with other Spec Ops groups like the United States Army Delta Force.

A few years later, in 2020 humanity made its actual First Contact. Keep in mind that this is beyond classified and the only reason I know is because of working with Ryan. Researchers discovered on a remote island remnants of a civilization dating back millions of years. I don't know the details of how it happened, but one of the worlds more radical nations, North Korea, actually discovered a temple that turned out to be a Mothership of sorts for an Alien species that we later named the Ceph.

The Ceph had technology beyond our imagination, but nearly 100 years prior a man named Jacob Hargreave managed to get a sample of their tech, and created the first iteration of suits called nanosuits. Apparently he had a vendetta against the Ceph and created the suits purely to combat them.

Fortunately, several Spec Ops teams from the US was on the island at the time investigating what the North Koreans were doing. Those that survived the ensuing chaos were taken to a local carrier group which tried to fend off the 'invasion'. When the US military geared up to beat back the Ceph, Ryan took part in beating back the invasion to the Mothership and the shield it created.

2 years later, Hargreave created a prototype for the second iteration of the nanosuit, and after selecting Ryan personally, geared him up with it with the purpose of infiltrating the shield and ship to gather intel with one of the surviving Spec Ops men, call sign Prophet.

Something went wrong though when they were inside, as the Mothership tried to make orbit. The theory was that the Mothership used artificial wormholes for FTL, and while Prophet made it out, Ryan stayed behind to sabotage the ship. The best guess that we have is that since he was in the process of destabilizing the power source for the ship, an unstable wormhole was made.

The ship was torn apart, but somehow Ryan survived and was sent forward to now. We found him on our way to the Charon relay on our shake down run amidst every known radiation signature. When we brought him on board, he had no memory of who he was or how he got here."

As John stopped so he could grab a drink from his water bottle he had by his data terminal, Kaira just looked at him with a mix of confusion, disbelief, and awe.

"Now that brings me to our mission and how we both became Spectres. I was under supervision by Nihlus Kryik for my own Spectre candidacy when we picked Mitchell up, and Nihlus was as interested in our new arrival as we were. Our shakedown run was taking us to Eden Prime to pick up a Prothean beacon, but when we got there it was under attack by Geth. After plowing through them, rescuing Ash, we found Nihlus near death from a gunshot near his skull and spine. When we stabilized him, we saved the colony from some bombs the Geth had prepped and Ryan accidentally interfaced with the beacon and received a vision.

When we came back to the Citadel, we had shaky evidence that Saren Artierus was the one who led the attack. Naturally the Council wanted more proof, so we got it in the form of Tali with the help of Garrus and Wrex. The Council couldn't deny our evidence and after Nihlus had recovered to testify, suggested us both to be Spectres. Ryan gave a brief demonstration of the suits abilities to the Councilors, and they inducted us and gave us a lead.

Part of our proof painted Matriarch Benezia as an accomplice, so we went after Liara to see what she knew and if she could help Ryan with the vision. After rescuing her from some more Geth, we went to Arcturus station where we hooked up the omni-plant we have down in Engineering as well as got some more information on Ryan's past from Admiral Hackett, whose ancestor was Ryan's CO.

From there we got the distress call from the colony of Feros, and immediately went there fighting even more Geth. In the process, Ryan received a Prothean Cipher which helped to clear up the vision a bit.

That finally brings us to our current situation." John finally finished. Kaira was more or less in shock at hearing Ryan's background. After a few moments of working things out in her head, she sighed.

"Well… at least Jackson isn't the only one with a innately complicated past. It's hard to believe that we missed that much of Earth's history though...I still wonder how they are both able to cope with the knowledge that they left everything and everyone they ever knew behind..." Kaira mused out loud.

John laughed a bit, "Well, for Ryan part of it comes from the military training. Although most of it comes in the form of support from one hell of a woman."

Kaira furrowed her brow in though a bit in thought, then it struck her "Liara?"

John just smirked at her answer.

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Enroute to Edolus**

**Jackson POV**

With the debrief with Shepard and Mitchell taken care of, Tali led Rana and I down the stairs from the combat deck to the crew deck so we could take the elevator down to engineering.

"Rana is it?" Tali asked to which Rana nodded, "What is your specialty in engineering?" The elevator arrived at the crew deck and opened up allowing the three of us to step in. Before the door closed I was able to catch the sight of Kaira and Shepard heading to his quarters. Right as the door completely closed I swear I saw Mitchell and Liara walking with their arms intertwined. _Huh... Wouldn't have __pegged those two together..._ I thought absently as the two engineers I was sharing the elevator with were discussing engineering details that were way above my head.

When we got off the elevator, Tali first showed us the actual engineering room. Besides housing the overly massive and exposed drive core, most of it was filled with monitoring stations and access ladders that most likely led to various components of the engines.

Once Rana and I got over the sight of the drive core, Tali led us back out to what I thought was a CNC mill when we first came aboard. When Tali explained that it was able to manipulate highly refined materials or omni gel at its molecular and atomic level, both Rana and I were amazed. While standard minifacturing plants were able to use standard omni gel to create small parts used to upgrade or repair weapons and armor, it sounded like this thing could create anything you wanted to. Useful.

As soon as we made it out of the hall that led from engineering back out to the cargo area, something was off. Mitchell's suit rested on the omni plants table, but one of the Normandy crew members was standing over and attaching something to it.

"Aldman!" Tali shouted, "What are you doing?"

Aldman looked up in surprise, as did Ashley and Delina who were busy in a race disassembling and reassembling rifles. "Uh... I-I was just making sure that the data retrieval was proceeding like it should." He stumbled over his words a bit. As Delina and I stepped forward to confront him, he reached for something in his back pocket.

I wasn't about to take any chances. Before he could make another move, my biotics flared and I closed the distance between him and me instantly. I made sure that the exit from the biotic charge wouldn't send him flying, but he still went staggering back towards the wall – and I quickly pinned him there with my left forearm as I drew back my right and formed a blade for good measure.

"You can't help but make trouble can you, Jackson?" I heard Delina remark.

"Not when you're around, Delina… Rana, what was that thing he was messing with?" I called back, focusing on Aldman the entire time to be sure he didn't try anything.

A few moments later, Rana responded slowly: "I did not believe that these were yet operational... These are experimental EMP devices. When attached to a power supply, they can be activated remotely from a vast distance away and create a significant explosion. The radius of the blast is dependent upon the power source though."

"Shepard, Mitchell and T'Suni down to the Cargo bay pronto! We have an issue that needs your attention" Ashley calls out for the Normandy's VI to relay via the PA.

As soon as she did though, Aldman began to squirm under my grip. I let out a warning growl, which only made him stop for a moment. And then I saw it. Just a gleam in the pupil of his eye. At first I thought it was a reflection of my biotic blade, until it was clearly yellow and increasing in luminosity, and had taken over the entire surface of the eye. The progression paused for a moment, both eyes almost blinding. And then he started screaming. I stepped back and the blade evaporated, but I realized that wasn't the cause. Aldman continued screaming and throwing his arms up as if there was fire on his face… but there was none. Instead, he fell to his knees and suddenly became silent as his head began turning to dust and falling away…

* * *

**A few minutes earlier**

**Mitchell's POV**

As I led Liara back to my quarters, we passed by Kaiden and Garrus who were sitting at one of the tables in the mess area. It seemed like they were getting along decently, Kaiden was asking about C-Sec and Garrus was asking what it was like to be a human biotic. _Glad to see that some of the crew is bonding..._

_**Yes... It is nice to see not all Humans harboring ill will towards Turians after what happened in the First Contact War...**_Liara replied

_Liara... With this mental link we have... I was wondering... How does it work?_

_**Simply put, when Asari do a mind meld we attune our nervous systems to that of our bondmate. While it is not a common practice, it is possible for an Asari to permanently set a linkup between her and her bondmates mind.**_

_Soooo... Basically it's as if you're doing a regular meld without the 'Embrace Eternity' line? _We reached my door and I let her in first, closing the door behind me.

"That is a fair approximation... Although it still does require me to maintain the connection." Liara said normally.

"Is that dangerous?" I asked.

"Under most circumstances no, the only time it might be is when one of us may be severely injured or killed while the connection is active."

"Well I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen..." I assure her.

"_Shepard, Mitchell and T'Suni down to the Cargo bay pronto! We have an issue that needs your attention_"

"Oy..." I sighed, "I'll be right back Liara." I gave her a quick kiss and bolted out of my quarters. I saw John and Kaira run on out of John's quarters. _Must have finished whatever conversation they were having..._ We got to the elevator at the same time and took it down.

When we got down there, Rana, Jackson, Ash, Delina and Tali were all standing over by the omni-plant and looking down at a figure on the floor.

"What's going on?" John, Kaira, myself all asked at the same time at which everyone present got a bemused expression before turning serious again.

"It seems like we had an infiltrator on board sir." Ash answered.

"I was giving Rana and Jackson a brief tour of engineering, and when I brought them back out here to show them the omni-plant, we found Aldman trying to attach something to Mitchell's nanosuit." Tali offered.

"The device is an experimental EMP. When hooked into a power supply, it can be activated remotely from vast distances. From the way he was positioning the device and the fact that he even had one suggests someone who knows about your armor in detail." Rana continued. I pushed forward to go look at the body on the ground, and found it missing its head. "Forrest tried to keep Aldman from trying anything more, and Williams called almost immediately… I have never seen technology like that. His eyes began to glow before his head disintegrated…"

"Damnit... God fucking damnit..." I muttered to myself, recognizing the signature marks of vaporization. While my memories weren't fully returned, the man who was responsible for me being here, as well as the deaths of several dozen servicemen and perhaps the entire Ceph Incursion, tracked me down to get his damn suit back and was willing to sacrifice other people for it. I hadn't felt this mad since I learned that my parents died, or that I was getting stonewalled by a guy who couldn't let go of a grudge. I balled my hands into fists and slowly stood up.

"Ryan..." John said as he cautiously stepped closer to me. "Do you know what happened?"

"Yes I do... The nanosuits were... are equipped with sophisticated audio/video transmission devices so that anyone who had the proper codes could see what the wearer saw. That most likely was the source of the initial eye's glowing you saw." I gestured to the non-Spectres. "What caused his head to turn to dust most likely is a different form of the vaporization protocol. That protocol was only to be used if a nanosuit operative either died or was captured to avoid enemy nations getting their hands on the technology. The suit would use its energy stores to vaporize itself and the wearer to nothing but dust."

The gravity of the situation didn't hit them as hard as I thought it would as there was a long pause.

"So who would have that kind of tech then?" Ash asked.

"The original creator of the suit, Jacob Hargreave. I don't know how but he either didn't die back in 2023, or this is his work by proxy." I answered. "In short, the suit and myself are wanted by a man who more than likely has more innocent blood on his hands than a slaver." That got the message across as everyone's eyes went wide.

I went over to the front side of the omni-plant to see what exactly Aldman did to the suit. The small square device had been tucked between the mount I made for the AM-1 and the suit itself where I wouldn't have noticed it normally, _whoever this guy was he at least knew what he was doing._ "Tali, if you could check his omni tool, it may have some hints about what he was trying to accomplish." I turned to John next, "I think we need to have Chakwas examine the body, with all the bio-mechanical engineering that more than likely went into the suits, Hargreave could have easily found a way to manipulate a person's DNA to change their appearance." Going back to the omni-plant, I detached the AM-1 mount to get a better look at the EMP device. "Rana, think you can detach this?"

She stepped up closer to the suit and scanned the device. After reading the results, her brow furrowed. "I should be able to disconnect it, but doing so would disrupt power flow throughout the suit."

"That doesn't matter, the suit is able to repair itself given time." I reply matter of factly.

That got Rana's attention, "What? But this is just armor – how in the Goddesses name is that possible?" she exclaimed.

Rather than give her a half assed explanation, I went over to the work desk and grabbed an empty data pad. On my way over, I thought about all the data we had from Hackett and our own research, if it could be called that , and it being downloaded into the pad. When I reached Rana, the download was almost complete. "Rana, please stick out your hand." I asked. She did so hesitantly while all I did was activate the DNA scan on the omni-tool and uploaded her profile to the data pad. "There, that's all the information we have on the nanosuit. The data pad is programmed to erase itself if anyone other than you tries to access it, you try to copy it to another source, if someone tries to hack it, and finally after 7 days."

Rana looked impressed with the security precautions, "Judging by your precautions, I take it this information is invaluable…Thank you. Although I must ask, how did you acquire such technology?"

I looked to John and Kaira, and quick sent a message via the Omni-tool to him.

_John, I feel like I've put enough people in danger. Even knowing about me and the suit will put Hargreave on their tail. Nod once if you gave Kaira the low down on my 'travels'_

After reading the message, John nodded once and gave me a concerned look.

_It's alright, I'm ok with the fact that she knows. Nod once if you think she should be the one to tell her crew or nod twice if I should._

John nodded once.

Looking back to Rana, I simply stated the truth "I'm a relic from a bygone era." and walked over to the elevator, stepped inside, and punched the button to go back up leaving the 517th members to figure the phrase out.

* * *

**DeltaTech HQ**

**Terra Nova**

Jacob Hargreave sat in his office, reviewing the footage from his agent's ocular implants. Under normal circumstances, he would have had his agent plant the EMP device during the ships night shift rather than try to do it in the middle of the day shift. The Illusive Man's request changed that, seeing how he wanted every advantage possible when it came time to take Mitchell down. Had Jacob also known about this Asari Commando squad being on board and cooperating, he would have made alterations to the plan. While the loss of his deep cover agent was regrettable, he knew what little data the agent had collected would be invaluable especially in the way that young man used his biotics.

He pressed a button on his console, which brought up a list of his agents. Bringing up one, he modified the agent's orders by adding an additional weapon to the supply list. That particular agent was going towards a rendezvous with a Cerberus frigate to equip the Illusive Man's team with the proper gear needed to disable Mitchell and the suit without damage.

As he finished sending the orders, a ping came from his console. Checking the notification, he saw it was a call from his chief of security. "Yes Robinson what is it?" Jacob asked.

"Sir, as you know you ordered us to place extra security measures in place over the company's mainframe. To do that, we had to shut down the mainframe and switch to its backup. During that time though, someone was able to hack into the back up using a loophole in its security startup protocols." His C.o.S. reported.

Jacob's face visually went from its slightly tan appearance to tomato red. "WHAT! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WAS TAKEN!" He screamed at the console.

"Everything sir, even the files you had on your personal server. Whoever did this was either very good, very lucky, or had help from a different source." the Security Chief calmly explained.

Jacob calmed down slightly, and after fixing his tie looked straight into the holographic representation of his C.o.S. eyes. "Have you found out who did the hacking, and where from?"

"Initial thoughts from our analysts point towards the hack being done from inside the complex, but as of yet we have no clue on the hackers identity. We are leaning towards either Alliance techs, STG, Spectre, or possibly even Shadow Broker agents any of whom using a VI assistant."

"Why do you say that Robinson?"

"Well sir, as soon as we got the alarm that someone had got in, the time it took them to download the data was shorter than the time our techs took to even begin counter hacking."

"Hmm..." Jacob sat back in his chair, leaning it all the way back considering the possibilities. "Thank you Robinson. Be sure to tell the techs that whoever finds out who did the hack, that they will receive a substantial reward for their work" He spoke, knowing that the last time he made such an offer his people pulled out all the stops, and the lucky ones got not only an increased paycheck but a company paid vacation to Elysium. Jacob was nothing if not grateful for the work of his employees and he showed it.

Unlike his ancestor, he knew that if wanted his company to succeed, he had to be sure the employees knew what they and the company were doing, were being paid enough, and had whatever minor concerns they had addressed. _That my great-great-grandfather was your down fall. With you gone, your employees had no drive to continue their work, and no one else knew how all the pieces of the Nanoshell's fit together_.

"Right away sir." Robinson complied and signed off.

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Enroute to Edolus**

After going up the elevator to the crew deck, I sent Liara a message saying that I was going to be in the rec room for a while. Now the Normandy, while a military ship, is special in several ways. Since its original purpose was to be a stealth reconnaissance ship (hence the SR-1), its crew would be subject to long term missions behind enemy lines. As such the designers of the ship saw fit to put a crew recreation area in.

Like the navy air craft carriers, the higher ups knew that even a well trained crew needs some form of stress relief, so in the area they had a heavy punch bag, some weight lifting and cardio equipment, as well as a round table for card playing and a holoscreen with a large movie database preinstalled.

_Huh... The only thing missing would be a bar and this would be a bachelor's ultimate pad._ When I saw the heavy punching bag, I made a beeline straight for it. Taking off my shirt, boots and socks, I did some stretching to loosen up my muscles and cracked my knuckles.

The bag didn't know what hit it, I started off with standard one two quick straight punches. Each hit left a sizeable imprint in the bags stuffing. When those got boring I moved on to a punch-kick combo which was easy to reverse and do with the opposite set of limbs. The bag, since it was hanging from the ceiling, would sway back after the kick requiring me to time the next punch-kick combo.

That too became boring, and my anger wasn't going anywhere. As the bag came back at me, I did a spinning round house kick, focusing everything I had into it. When my foot connected with the bag, two things happened. First thing was that the amount of force I put into the kick actually left my foot stuck inside the bag. The second thing that happened was that the chain broke from the weight of the bag and my body going with it.

The next thing I knew I was being pulled by the bag to my right, with my left foot stuck inside it. Thankfully the bag didn't go far and I merely just fell on my back. _Damn... I need to find a better way to blow off steam..._ I thought to myself as I had a small flash back.

_When I was at Vandenberg, I had an entire room of eager airmen willing to test their CQC on the unofficial 'master'. Whenever I would go to the CQC instructors to join in on their class, they would simply let me lead the class. They of course would bet me that I couldn't take on 3 of their top guys, or how ever many they thought were the best. The most I went up against were 8 freshly graduated airmen seeking to get their CQC tabs, which was one of the steps towards getting into a STS team. That was a more crazy fight than when I went up against Major O'Brian back in basic. The men I faced off against either had broken arms, hands or noses, while I got away with a broken collar bone, fractured tibia, and some cuts and bruises._

"Enjoying a trip down memory lane?" I looked over to the door and saw Jackson standing in the door. "Looks like you don't really need the suit if your able to do that kind of damage." He motions toward my foot, which was still stuck in the bag.

"Yeah... Well let's just say that according to some sources I'm not entirely human anymore." I say off handedly as I pull my foot out.

"Can't say I wouldn't feel otherwise..." He spoke as he sat down next to me. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"I'll do my best to answer."

"Where are you from exactly? That 'I'm from a bygone era' comment implies your older than you look, but on the other hand the technology in that suit is radically advanced to the point it makes everything else look primitive."

I laughed a bit at this. "Well... You said you joined Kaira in 2011? How old were you back then?"

"17 turning 18 why?"

"Well I was 21 and already had completed my basic training in the United States Air Force." That stunned him and his mouth was hanging open. "Let's just say that you missed out on some serious shit and you should be glad that you did. Currently I'm 32 years old physically, and I'm sure you can figure the rest out by yourself." I got up, grabbed my clothes and as I walked to the door, I nearly ran into one of the woman crewmembers. While she was admiring the view, I quickly apologized and stepped out of her way and went to my quarters to clean up.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_That was one hell of bomb to just drop and then leave_. I still had a second for it to sink in before the blonde crewmember that just entered came over and looked at what Mitchell did.

She whistled, "Damn... I'd hate to see him really angry if he did this..." She commented. "My names Alyssa, you must be a part of that Asari Commando squad that showed up." She offered me her hand, which I accepted and stood up.

"Yeah I am. I'm Jackson. Forrest Jackson." I reply.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get on an Asari Commando squad?" She asked.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

There was a reason why Dostya was the Illusive Man's number two field agent. She was able to get just about any information from any one she talked to (usually by flirting), has never blown her cover, knew when an operation was beyond its bounds, and had a photographic/audio graphic memory. She was one of the few humans in existence that could remember every moment of every day in their lives in extreme detail.

This was no different as she had heard about how this Jackson was able to perform several maneuvers that not even the Asari knew about in the cargo hold when Aldman's double screwed up. Knowing how much the Illusive Man would be intrigued by such information, she went to do what she did best. Gather intel, flirt, and report back.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

As Alyssa continued asking me various questions, I began to get the feeling that she was being a little too flirtatious. She asked what it was like on an Asari ship, if I had 'Embraced Eternity' with any one of them, what kinds of missions we went on, how good my biotics were and other similar questions. Pretty usual questions, but instead of letting me ask a few she always found a spot when I was talking to get another question in – and it was getting annoying.

When she asked about where I came from, I told her half the truth not knowing her intentions. I could tell that she was paying very close attention to anything I said, as if she were trying to remember everything I said and did.

"Hey, I heard from scuttlebutt that you can do some pretty amazing things with your biotics... Could you show me?" She asked sweetly…almost too sweetly.

_I know this is a small ship but that was only a half hour ago! _"Well... I don't know, after the battle with the mercs and that stunt downstairs I'm pretty worn out. Plus I need to rest up for this upcoming mission." I reasoned with her.

But she kept coming on, and got a little too close for comfort. "Oh… I'm sure a guy like you has more than enough stamina to show a girl something she hasn't seen before." That was…no. There was awkward, and there was alarming. Her comment was the prior; the way she brushed a hand a long my shoulder...

"Sorry Alyssa, but if this next fight is going to be anything like our previous one, I'm going to need every bit of energy I got." With a nod, I stepped away from her and went straight to the elevator. The sooner I was out of her presence, the better. Now was certainly not the time for any of that… There was too much unsettled business. When I had left the Cargo Bay earlier Shepard and Kaira were going over Mitchell's background with Delina and Rana. At Shepard's suggestion, I had left them to go talk to Mitchell and see what he was up to. Now I had to go back, track down Shepard and let him know that he may have another spy on board…

_What a day...And we haven't even left the planet yet!_

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

When I got back to my room, Liara was going through something on my data terminal. After closing the door, she turned around and greeted me with a smile that I couldn't help but return. _I could get used to coming back to her smile..._

"Oh really now?" Liara asked slyly.

"Yup!" I replied coming over and giving her a small hug. "I'm going to take a shower quick, then I'm going to rest for a bit."

She nodded, "Alright, when you get back out will you tell me what happened down in the cargo hold and why you needed to go to the recreation room?"

"Of course Liara. Now I'll be right back out." I grabbed a plain shirt and some loose shorts to change into after my shower. While I cleaned myself up, I swear I heard some music playing. I couldn't quite hear the lyrics, but the rhythms sounded familiar. I finished up as quick as I could, dried off, and put on my clean clothes. As I stepped out of my rather small washroom, I could understand the lyrics now. "_I'm on my way to better days, You'll find your faith, you'll find a way, You're on your way to better days, you'll find your faith"_

"What are you listening to Liara?" I asked.

" 'Better Days' by Breaking Benjamin." I raised an eyebrow, not expecting her to listen to something like what I was hearing. "After you came and helped me get some rest earlier, I decided to look up the song you had playing on your Omnitool and found the groups music collection. I thought that since your subconscious chose to play that song, then maybe it was from a favorite group from your past." She was still sitting at the console looking through what I assumed to be song list.

As I listened to the song being played, it did feel familiar. After listening to it for a few seconds, the sensation of my head being a size too small came back...

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_I'm standing in a crowded arena, right in front of a stage. Its dark and everyone is yelling or screaming. The opening act was phenomenal but we all were here for the main show. I could barely make out some figures moving across stage towards the instruments. A second later and a familiar guitar rift started, which caused the crowd around me to go even more insane. The lights came on as the other parts of the band joined in creating the opening phrase._

"_**I see nothing in your eyes, and the more I see the less I like.  
Is it over yet, in my head?  
I know nothing of your kind, and I won't reveal your evil mind.  
Is it over yet? I can't win.  
So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left.  
I know that I can find the fire in your eyes.  
I'm going all the way, get away, please."**_

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Just as soon as the flash back happened it ended, and I found Liara standing in front of me holding my upper arms with a concerned look on her face. "Ryan? Are you ok? What happened?"

I smiled, "I'm ok, just a small flash back that I had from a concert I went to of that group, and yes their music was a favorite of mine." Liara's face then softened into a smile. "Thank you Liara."

"I did say back on Arcturus that I would help you through this period of you recovering your memories, didn't I?"

I chuckled a bit as I drew her into a hug, "Yes you did." After holding the embrace for a while, I had my omnitool download all the music by Breaking Benjamin, and let Liara go as I made my way to my bed. When I plopped down on it not bothering to get under the covers and got as close to the wall as I could, I motioned for Liara to join me. "I'm just going to relax now and listen to the music you reintroduced me to... Care to join me?" I asked with a wide grin which Liara returned.

"I can't think of anything better to do." Was her reply.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

By the time I made it back down to the Cargo hold, Kaira, Delina, and Rana all had returned from the Akina with the gear we would need for our assault on the Contractor base, including the jump packs. Shepard was busy chatting with Williams.. and it seemed like there may have been a flirt or two thrown in there. _Ah... Reminds me of the good old days..._ I looked over to my team, and saw that they had deposited the gear between the work desk and the omni-plant.

Kaira nodded to John and John sent a message via his Omni-tool. The next thing I felt was the pulse of the Normandy's engines as we were making escape velocity, leaving behind our ship along with Tali and the rest of the crew. _Damn... This is my first mission not on the Akina..._

"Here's to hoping that the Akina will rise again Commander." I mentioned as I went over to check my own gear.

"She may be old, but she's stubborn. It'll take a lot more than a few lucky shots to permanently take her out of the game." Kaira replied as she calibrated her jump pack

"After conversing with Tali'Zorah, I found that she indeed has a firm grasp of our drive core layout. Then given that she has memorized the Normandy's core, she was hopeful that she would be able to make significant improvements." Rana added, her gaze never moving from the data pad that Mitchell had given her. I had to hand it to her, when she set herself on a project she hardly let anything else distract her.

Delina was being her usual silent-unless-she-had-a-snarky-comment self and was checking the heat sinks in her sniper. Apparently Williams had plenty spare parts for the Spectre X weapons the Normandy ground team had and let Delina see if she could incorporate them into her rifle. That gave me an idea.

I grabbed my Mattock and took it over to the work desk. Shepard had left to go check in with Garrus, so that left me and Williams. "Uh, Chief Williams?" I asked hesitantly, she was busy stripping down one of the rifles and making sure it was oiled correctly.

"Hey, Jackson right?" I nodded, "How can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you had any ideas for improvements to my Mattock here." I activated it, and it unfolded on the table, ready to cause some mayhem.

"Damn... I haven't seen a Mattock since basic! Where did you find it?" She asked excitedly.

"After I hooked back up with the 517th, one of the merc groups we ran into had a stash of these. I figured they could spare one."

"You made a great selection, semi auto, great stopping power and if your good enough it can double as a sniper. Although just by looking at it I can tell you made some mods yourself already. Why don't you tell me what you've done so far and I'll see if I can add anything."

"Alright Chief-"

She stopped me with a raised hand. "OK, try that again, but don't call me Chief, I go by Ash or Ashley."

I smiled and corrected myself. After explaining my one and only mod, a Carnage-esque Overcharge shot for a rifle, I thought her eyes would pop out of her head. When I explained the downside of how it immediately overheated the heat sinks and had more kick back than an actual Carnage shot, her face went back to normal. The only thing she could recommend was replacing the heat sinks already in the gun with more efficient ones, but since the Mattock was such an old design it would require custom made heat sinks that most minifacturing plants couldn't handle.

Luckily they had the Omni-plant. Ash took a couple of the spare heat sinks for the Spectre X weapons, then disassembled the Mattock, grabbed its heat sinks and took them all over to the Omni-plant. Rana saw what we were doing, and came over to observe. The omni-plant's user interface was actually very easy. Even though it was currently collecting data from Mitchell's suit, it was still able to scan the two sets of heat sinks, determine their composition, and store the design of the Mattocks heat sinks.

What came next was unbelievable to say the least. Ashley instructed it to turn the Spectre X heat sinks into the Mattock's style of heat sinks. Two of the actuator arms then proceeded to melt down the heat sinks, vacuum up the material and began to reform it layer by layer in the Mattock's style. The entire process took about 15 minutes, and I couldn't help but watch in amazement along with Rana. When the arms went back to their original positions, the new heat sinks were sitting there ready to be used. The material was even cool to the touch!

"Simply amazing... I had no idea that such a machine exisisted." Rana said quietly, most likely thinking about all the projects she could finish if she had the omni-plant.

"Yeah considering this is a prototype, it's pretty amazing alright." Ashley added.

"Where did you get this?" Rana asked.

"Shepard has a friend in Alliance R&D on Elysium. This is apparently his life's work, and while it takes up a lot of room, it's times like this where it comes in handy."

I took the newly formed heat sinks in my hand and went over to the work table. To my surprise they fit better than the originals did! As I reassembled the gun, I couldn't help but feel a little impatient to try it out. As I turned around to thank Ash for her help I saw Shepard leave from talk with Garrus.

"Commander!" I called out, and he stopped immediately and looked for who called.

"Ah Jackson, how can I help you?"

_Probably better to start this off as slow as possible._.. "Well sir, how well do you know _everyone _on your crew?"

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Cargo Bay**

**In Orbit Over Edolus, Sparta System, Artemis Tau Cluster**

**Mitchell's POV**

The two hours I spent with Liara just simply sitting together in my room, enjoying some 'ancient' music together, really helped to take my mind off of Hargreave. The fact that there are entities with knowledge from that time period is troubling; Whoever it is behind the now headless body in the med bay can't have the galaxy's best interest at heart.

When Henderson announced that we had made it to the Sparta System, I went down to the Cargo Bay to grab the Nanosuit. As I surveyed the area, I saw Garrus frantically finishing up whatever calibrations he was doing, Ash was setting everyone's guns back in their respective lockers while putting the spares up on the wall on locked racks, and Wrex...

Wrex was leaning against the side wall by the omni-plant and was conversing with Jackson, while the rest of the 517th were standing around the omni-plant looking at a small holo-projected image of what I could only assume to be our area of operations.

"Ladies, what's the situation look like?" I ask the commandos as I approach them. The three of them looked at me up and down, and it was then that I noticed I was only wearing my pants. _Good thing I'm comfortable with not wearing a shirt... _ I didn't pay them any attention though and simply looked at Kaira.

"Well... It would seem that our best course of action would be for us to take care of your objective first. We can jump at the same time that you launch the Mako and maneuver to this ridge to the west of the marines last known position." Kaira replied, and zoomed in on the terrain of their spot. The ridge was maybe 300 to 450 meters from the center of the valley/field, so the 517th would be more than able to provide some scouting for the Mako team before we actually got there.

"Ok that's pretty straight forward, but after we accomplish our objectives how do you want to approach the base?" I ask.

Rana activated her omni-tool, which zoomed to a different location of the map. "All we know from our sources and the data Tali'Zorah managed to obtain was that the base is somewhere in this section of the mountain range." She explained and paused before continuing, "I was hoping that in combination to the Normandy's stealth systems and our drop far from the base, that theContractor won't know we are coming and I will be able to find a power signature."

"Yeah, otherwise you might have to use that cannon of yours to blow up the entire section of mountain just to find a damn door ." Delina deadpanned.

I shook my head at the Asari who was across the omni-plant's table, "How about I only do that when the situation becomes FUBAR?" When I looked back up, I saw not only Delina looking at me strangely, but Kaira and Rana as well. I groaned and called over, "Jackson... You spent how long with these three and you didn't teach them basic acronyms?"

Jackson spun around with a puzzling look on his face, "Um... What?"

"I said you never taught them basic acronyms like FUBAR." I repeated the question.

Jackson broke out laughing, "HA! No I never thought to tell them about that particular one!"

"What's so funny about that Jackson?" Delina asked.

"Well... Considering how many times it applied to our situation, I can't believe I didn't think of using it before. FUBAR. Ha."

I cleared my throat to get the three Asari's attention. "FUBAR is a acronym for Fucked Up Beyond Any Recognition/Rescue. It's a popular one amongst military minded people, or anyone looking describe a situation as hopeless." Kaira and Rana made the typical understanding facial gesture, while Delina got a glint in her eyes that made it seem like she liked the phrase.

"You're right Jackson, it would have described _you _on several occasions back in the day!" Delina quipped. "Hell, it still does."

"Ha ha ha Delina..." He groaned and turned back to talking with Wrex. I on the other hand grabbed my suit and took it up to my quarters to change. Liara stored hers in her quarters, so she should be nearly ready.

After the annoyingly long elevator ride, I met John coming down from the CIC. "Hey John, how are we looking?" I asked.

"Well, Pressly is scanning the planet for any signs of a base. He says he found something but was having a hard time pinpointing the source."

"Anything else?" I asked as the door to the rec room opened up and out stepped a blonde crewmember, and in her arms was a handful of credit chits. As she stepped over to the crew quarters, I could hear some cursing from the rec side before the door cycled shut. The blonde as she waited for the other door to open, gave me a quick wink before heading inside. _Ok... I recognize her from somewhere... But where..._

John waved his hand in front of my face to get my attention back, "There is something that's been brought to my attention, but it's something we can discuss later." He said quietly and continued on to his quarters. I went back to mine so I could get the armor on.

I stepped into my room, under the assumption that Liara had changed in her quarters... Naturally I was wrong as I saw Liara's bare blue back facing me as she stood up from bending over, giving me quite the view of her surprisingly lithe form as she got her armors under suit on. _Her civvies certainly don't do her body justice..._

"Enjoying the view Ryan?" She called looking over her shoulder, catching me off guard. "If you would please close the door, it would be appreciated." She then went back to putting her under suit together, being careful not to turn very much to hide her front half. Wordlessly, I closed the door behind me, and set the armor down on my bed. "Well... You didn't answer my question..." She teased as she had turned back around to face me as she zipped up the front of the under suit, being careful to not reveal anything to me. I must have looked like a kid in a candy store, because she only smiled and turned back around to start putting on the actual armor. "I suppose fair is fair..." She said off handedly, "How do you humans put it?... 'I saw you in all your glory'?"

I laughed, my trance finally being broken. "Yeah that's about right... But does seeing me naked in my own memory count?"

"I suppose not."

"Besides... I didn't get to see you the same way..." I say softly as I walk closer to her, "From what I did see though..." I grabbed her in a hug from behind while I kissed the nape of her neck, causing her to shudder, "...I think we're tied up." She dropped whatever section she was working on of her armor and spun around to wrap her arms around my neck and kiss me back. I moved my hands to her hips and brought one of them to the small of her back, which elicited a soft moan. Liara suddenly broke off the kiss and put her hands on my chest to sort of push me off.

"Ryan... I... Goddess... I think you should know that while you and I have melded twice now, I have never done so in an act of love..." Liara said softly, while looking down into my chest. I brought her face back up to look me in the eyes and she continued. "There is a another form of the mind meld process, which we Asari call Union. It is reserved for... intimate moments..."

I looked into her eyes, comprehending what she was saying. "It's ok Liara..." I say reassuringly, "I won't push you to do anything you don't want too."

"No it's not that... It's just... Is it right for us to have a relationship like this on a mission where either one of us could die at any moment?"

I had to think about that one for a bit before I answered. "'With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now'**". Liara looked a little puzzled at first, then the poem's meaning struck her.

"Where do you come up with these phrases, Ryan?" She asked.

I laughed a little as I kissed her forehead, "I have no clue Liara..." and proceeded to turn around, disrobe and put on my suit.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Once Liara and I had gotten fully into our armor, we both went down to the Cargo Bay. Before the door opened up, I decided to play a little joke to lighten up the mood a little. Under cloak, I could tell that everyone was gathered near the cargo bay door and the Mako. While Liara distracted them, I went around to the Omni-plant, grabbed the AM-1, then proceeded to the work desk to pick up my weapons.

"Liara," I heard John's voice, "Where in the world is Ryan?"

Thankfully Liara played along, "He said that the suits visor was giving him some trouble. He'll be right down."

While Liara had everyone's attention I was able to sneak up behind Jackson before my energy reserves depleted. When they did, I simply tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump at least two feet in the air.

"WOAH!" He yelled out, and brought up what appeared to be blue blades from his arms in a defensive stance.

I chuckled, "Easy Jackson, just making sure you're on your toes."

"Yeah well, it's a little unnerving when someone your size is able to sneak up on me." He spoke as the blades disappeared.

"Jackson, what were those?" Kaiden asked.

"You mean these?" He said as the blades came to life again. "Just a biotic technique a Justicar taught me a long time ago. Comes in handy when facing a CQC situation, since the blades are biotics, I can slice and dice through most armor without having to worry about shields."

"Alright people enough of the show and tell, we have a mission to get under way." John called out, "Henderson, how long till we make atmospheric entry?"

"_ETA 10 minutes sir, Pressly is finalizing the entry course and working on finding that power source."_

"Thanks Henderson, you heard him people, to your respective vehicles" John ordered, and everyone from the Normandy team moved towards the Mako. "I'm driving, Ash your navigator, Garrus you got guns."

After a groan from our team at John's announcement of him driving, and as we each waited for our turn to crawl into the tank, I got a good look at the jump packs the 517th were using. They looked like a cross between a personal glider and a back pack.

"I can't believe you guys are using those things." Ash commented, "Aerial insertions are hardly used anymore."

"We've used the older versions of these before for an operation. They are useful for if you need to get to a normally inaccessible area and for deploying silently. Besides, these are the only things that will allow us to get into position fast enough to cover you guys." Kaira answered.

Thinking about aerial drops, and parachuting from perfectly good airplanes put my mind into overdrive. "You know... For Spec Ops missions, you'd think that someone would come up with an orbital drop armor. That way you maintain secrecy since I'm fairly certain that sensors aren't able to pick up a body falling through the air, and you'd be able to land anywhere you'd want." I replied.

"I believe that some time ago a Turian and Salarian science team looked into such an armor system, and their results were less than successful." Rana added, "The armor wasn't able to support a large enough power source able to power the shields long enough to survive re-entry, then figuring out a means of slowing the armor down was equally difficult. After their first prototype failed, leaving nothing but a burning crater, the project was cancelled."

"Damn... Although they didn't have knowledge of the tech in my suit to help them out..." I muttered.

"All I know," John joined in, "is that if you ever make something that can survive atmospheric re-entry Ryan and still be able to fight, you and anyone else who'd wear the damn thing would have the biggest sets of cahones in the galaxy." His joke got all of the humans laughing our asses off, while the non-humans stared in wonder at the crude joke.

A few minutes later and everyone was sitting in the Mako. While it was a little cramped, things could have been worse. As soon as John got the go signal from Henderson, he gunned the Mako. The feeling of microgravity was like none other, the only thing similar would be getting some airtime on my favorite rollercoaster. _Although I'm pretty sure that roller coasters don't have a cannon attached to the top of them._

Before I knew it, John was firing the thrusters to slow us down at the last second. When the Mako made contact with the ground, everyone bounced in their seats as gravity finally took a hold of us.

"_Comm check... Shepard... Mitchell... Do you read?"_ Kaira's voice came over the Mako's comm speakers.

"Loud and clear, you guys make it?" John radioed back.

"_Everyone present and accounted for._"

"Alright, how are things looking from your spot?" I asked

"_All we can see is what looks like a Grizzly tank sitting out in the middle of valley along with some sort of transmitter. It looks like the Marines came to investigate this area for some reason...__"_

"Perfect..." I muttered off the comm link.

"Garrus be ready with that gun, I've got a bad feeling about this..." John ordered, causing me to groan loud enough for everyone to look at me.

"You know John, now that you said that line that something is bound to go horribly wrong right?" I answered. Instead of replying, he simply gunned the throttle causing everyone to get thrown into their seats.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

The rush from jumping out of the Normandy a couple thousand feet in the air was still in my system. I wanted to do it again and waiting for the Mako to get to the target area was almost killing me. I had the Mattock out and ready to deal some damage, eager to see how the new heat sinks would improve its performance. Kaira was observing the target area trying to get a better view of what happened, Rana was monitoring for any Contractor comm traffic, while Delina looked as bored as me.

"Commander, do we have a solid location on the Contractor base yet?" I asked to try and pass the time.

"Not yet, the Normandy's XO is still working on it..." She answered. "Alright team, I have the Mako in sight... It's approaching the Grizzly."

AT that moment Rana's Omni-tool started blaring some kind of warning. Before I could ask what it was about, we all felt the ground shake. _You've got to be kidding me..._

A Thresher Maw must have picked up the Mako's vibrations and decided it wanted a meal and popped up from the ground maybe 100 meters in front of the Mako. What none of us expected was the damn thing to keep on coming out of the ground.

"Damn... That thing is huge!" I said in awe.

"By my estimation, that Maw is approximately 150 meters tall!" Rana informed us.

"I thought those things only got to 30!" Delina cried out as she leveled her sniper rifle looking for a weak spot in the Maw's armor to exploit. Before I could level my Mattock, the Maw took a shot at the Mako with its highly acidic spit. Shepard managed to dodge the attack by turning the Mako to the right at the last second.

I began to line up my sights for the longer distance while Delina was still waiting for a shot and Rana's Omni-tool went off again. This time a smaller normal sized Maw popped up in front of the Mako as it tried to maneuver for a shot against the biggest one. Again Shepard had to be a madman as he manipulated the Mako's thrusters to do a barrel roll away from the Maw.

As soon as the Mako landed, its turret began letting loose on the biggest one, but even the main cannon didn't seem like it was having an effect on the massive worm. "Everyone, focus on the smaller maw!" Kaira ordered as she flared her biotics to let loose one of the biggest warps I'd seen her do. Delina began to fire away, probably hoping to hit something vital. I joined in the fray with the Mattock, pulling the trigger as fast as I could. Unfortunately for Rana, with her specialty being our combat engineer, she didn't exactly have a high powered long range weapon. Still, she manipulated her omni-tool and let loose an incineration attack.

I took a look at the Mako, and thankfully it was still mobile. It seemed like it was doing a figure eight pattern around the Maws, but still focusing on the biggest one. After the big one hocked a particularly large loogy that nearly hit the Mako, I decided to put the Mattock to the test. Flipping the trigger for the Overcharge shot, I went prone and took careful aim at the smaller Maw, waiting for a good shot.

The Maw turned to launch another spit attack, and in doing so opened up its only weak spot. I pulled the trigger and the Mattock let out an almighty crack. In an instant the Maw's mouth exploded in a blast of armored flesh and blood. What surprised me more was that the Mattock's overheat indicator wasn't on, and I decided to take full advantage of that. Pulling the trigger again, what was left of the Maw's mouth disappeared, effectively creating a hole straight through its head.

I as I watched the Maw fall over, I felt my hands getting warmer. I looked to my gun and dropped it immediately. By firing the second overcharge, the barrel must have become superheated, and destroyed the gun from the inside. nd Delina began laughing at my debacle.

"Jackson, you ok?" I heard the Commander call out.

"Yes ma'am, I'm fine. I destroyed another piece of equipment though." I lamented, the now partially melted assault rifle being a personal favorite of mine. Previously.

"Holy crap!" Delina shouted, "Mitchell is getting out of the Mako! What does he think he's doing?"

My eyes shot back to the Mako, and I could barely make out Mitchell's upper half protruding from the hatch. He had something big in his hand which could only be one thing.

"Well... Now we get the chance to see what that thing can really do," I said quietly as the three commandos beside me watch the scene unfold.

The giant Maw sent another spit attack at the Mako, which it dodged but promptly corrected its course straight for it. I could barely make out the Mako's cannon raising up to aim for the same weak point I went after. With only about 100 meters between the Mako and the Maw, the distinct sound of something going beyond supersonic pierced the air followed by the loud report of the Mako cannon. The Maw, which had until moments ago withstood every cannon shot, looked like a bomb had went off inside its mouth. The armor plating that normally made up the front part of its 'face' was gone along with the mandibles that surrounded its mouth leaving a bloody, gory mess as the Maw fell backwards dead while the four of us commandos looked on in silence.

"…I'm telling you, there's only one reason to have a gun that big – and that's to compensate for other…_shortcomings_."

Kaira, Rana, and I all groaned at the same time in response to Delina's remark. As much as I wanted to start bickering, I knew it could only end badly for me. So I took another approach.

"Tell you what Delina... I'll bet you 500 credits that your wrong..." I reply instead as I watched the Mako pull up to the Grizzly. I could make out Mitchell's form hop out of the hatch followed by the distinctive armor of Shepard. They began inspecting what I initially thought were dirt piles, but after 'borrowing' Delina's sniper rifle, I saw Mitchell collecting tags from horribly burned bodies.

There was no option but to cringe at that… and an instant later, I heard a loud smash coming from the valley. When I looked up, I could see Shepard's biotics flaring... Along with a very new and noticeable dent in the Grizzly's hull.

"It would appear that those Marines were drawn here in a trap," Rana offered, "given Shepard's reaction and how those Maw's appeared so suddenly after the Mako entered the area, someone wanted those Marines and whoever would be investigating their disappearance dead."

"Alright team, let's get down there." Kaira ordered.

As we made our way down the slightly rocky hill, I could see the rest of the Normandy team get out of the Mako while Mitchell was slightly separated from the group. Deciding to leave the other three commandos in the dust, I did a charge focused on distance rather than power and found myself standing next to Mitchell.

"Hey Mitchell," I start off hoping that he isn't in as bad a mood as Shepard might be.

"Hey Jackson... I am safe in assuming that the other Maw was taken down by you?" He asked with his head tilted slightly.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Not entirely... Ashley did help me make the modifications to my rifle, so I'd thank her if I were you."

He looked me up and down quick, "So where is said rifle?" he asked as he crossed his arms.

"Uh... Well, I think I kind overheated the barrel when I took two consecutive overcharge shots… It kind of melted down." I reply looking down at the dirt. When I felt a heavy hand come down on my shoulder paldron, I looked back up.

"Live and learn Jackson... It's the only way a person can go about this life. Spend too much time in the past, and future will pass you by. Worry about the future and the present will become the past." He walked off behind me, leaving me to ponder those words.

"Kaira!" I heard him yell, "We got a solid location on the Contractor base!"

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

After the Normandy landed, Kaira, John and I went aside to talk strategy. Kaira wanted a well-balanced team for the assault, since the Contractor kept his ranks simple with soldiers, engineers, heavies, and vanguards. With John being an infiltrator with moderate biotics, myself being a soldier with infiltrator/heavy tendencies, we opted to bring Liara for her biotic specialty and Garrus for his background with hacking.

Before we took off, I grabbed a spare assault rifle and some extra grenades. With the rest of the team in the Mako already, I boosted over to the tank and jumped up. With the hatch still open I landed straight inside the tank, causing everyone to jump out of shock.

After laughing for a second, I tossed the collapsed rifle to Jackson. "Here ya go kid," he gave me a confused look, "Consider it a thank you for taking down that Maw... or an early birthday present which ever you prefer." As I sat down, I noticed that John was driving again, with Garrus once again in the gunners' position. This time however Rana was sitting in the navigators' position, with Jackson, Kaira, Delina, Liara and myself in the back 5 seats. Oddly enough we were sitting an Asari, Human, Asari, Human, Asari order with Delina being the one in the middle backseat. When I had redesigned the seating, I had to make the extra seats in a horseshoe configuration to get them to fit. While leg room, especially when Wrex was with us, would have been a problem it was a great addition to be able to take the entire ground team if necessary.

Although from the looks of things, Delina wasn't the most comfortable being in these close quarters nor of being stuck between Jackson and I. Both of our knees were making it impossible for her to at least try to mover hers and she began to fidget a bit to try and get comfortable. Jackson and I looked to each other, shrugged, and positioned our knees so that way Delina could at least extend them a bit.

Rather than doing that, she unbuckled her belt, lifted her legs up and rested them on top of ours, crossing them and putting her arms behind her head in the typical relaxing pose.

Kaira raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, Liara giggled slightly.

"You know..." I started off, "Given John's track record when it comes to driving, I'd hate to not be strapped in if he somehow finds a pot hole."

"Yeah Delina," Jackson picked up, "Why don't you belt back up?"

"For people who throw their lives around, you're awful concerned. Have you forgotten that Rana's navigating?"

Right on cue, John revved the engines as far as they would go, and I could feel us beginning to crawl up the side of a mountain; most likely so we could get a high vantage point to scope out our options. Kaira, Jackson, Liara, and myself were all fine being strapped in. Delina on the other hand ended up falling backwards with her legs over her head and unable to fight steep climb of the Mako to get back into her seat.

Jackson was grinning like a madman when I felt the slight shift in gravity right before the Mako lurched forward, likely coming up on some sort of out cropping part way up the mountain. Delina was flung forward again, somehow doing a half somersault and landing on her stomach across our knees.

"Dammit, Shepard! A Vorcha could drive better than this! What the hell?" She yelled up front.

Rana turned around and after a slight pause, likely wondering how Delina ended up like she did, answered with "We are climbing a small mountain to be able to do some scouting of the Contractor base before we assault it."

_Called it!_

"Then why have we stopped moving?" Liara asked.

"Navigator Pressly informed us that a Kowloon cargo ship is breaking the atmosphere and setting a direct course to the base. I have powered down the Mako's core to remain hidden to any sensor sweeps they might run."

"Good thinking Rana." I call up. While we sat and waited, Delina managed to get back in her seat while grumbling about 'how men always take up room' along with some other stuff I didn't catch. When she got back in her seat she firmly secured her belts. Once she was sure she wasn't going anywhere, she again put her legs up onto of mine and Jacksons. I'm pretty sure we both did an eye roll.

About 5 minutes later, Rana must have gotten the all clear as we began our ascent back up the mountain. Granted I knew using to Mako to climb up would be easier than rock climbing normally, I'm pretty sure that the tank wasn't meant to be climbing any hills that were beyond 50 degrees in inclination. At one point John must have gotten into a crevice, so he used the jets to boost us to another section of the mountain on the opposite side!

Several bone jarring jumps, hops, and near vertical climbing later, the Mako was somewhat level on the top of the mountain. We all climbed out so we could stretch out and take a look at what we were facing.

We were on a mountain range which had formed a sort of V valley, where the mountains made up the walls of the V and the open top was actually a hill that led down to the plains. The only thing visible we could see was a makeshift landing pad that had the cargo ship that flew over us docked. The pad itself was in the corner of the V, and there was some sort of hangar bay built into the side of the mountain in such a way that when not in use, wouldn't be spotted by passerby. There were several teams unloading some big containers from the ship and taking them into the hanger bay and around a corner where we couldn't see.

"Well... It would appear that the base is actually inside the mountain..." John commented.

"Makes sense... Why risk having a prefab building standing out in the open and be spotted by normal surface scans. They probably have something similar to cameo netting to cover that landing pad when not in use," I added.

"While it's great for them, it's going to be a tactical nightmare inside." Delina offered. "If the base has only one way in, then we lose any element of surprise since we have to walk in through the front gate."

Jackson looked at her, "You're awful hesitant. Didn't we always just charge in?"

"Yeah, maybe you did." She scoffed, "Someone has to plan though. And then, I knew exactly what the layout was, how many troops I was going up against, and what grade equipment they had."

We all fell silent for a bit, trying to think of new way to assault the base.

"Wait... For a base of any size, they cannot rely on having their only exit being their primary ventilation." Rana began. "They would surely need to have some exhaust and intake vents somewhere in the mountain ridge. If we could get in that way, then we would be able to gather what intel we need and be able to strike from within."

"I hate to burst your bubble Rana," I countered, "but even if this is a copy cat of the original Contractor, then chances are that the guy is going to be paranoid and will have his own personal escape route. If we go in, find out their numbers and go in guns blazing, he will more than likely get away."

"Wait... Shepard... Doesn't the Normandy have some of the best scanners and sensors around?" Garrus asked.

"Uh... Sure..." John stammered.

"Why don't we get Pressly to do a detailed thermal scan of the area. That should point out any ventilation points as well as where any escape tunnels may be." Garrus suggested, and John immediately brought up his omni-tool to start sending the order.

I looked up to Garrus, "Well, you're the ex-cop here Garrus. How would you approach this?" I asked.

"Well, depending on what those scans show, I would split us up into three teams. An infiltration team, a primary assault team, and a secondary assault team. Obviously the infiltration team only needs to be two people who will enter the closest vents, get a rough idea of what we're facing, and report back. The primary assault team will go in the obvious entry point; The front door. The secondary assault team will go in via the escape route and seal it off against anyone. While the assault teams are doing their thing, the infiltration team will look for the power generators, and prime them to blow. Once we get that taken care of, it becomes a clear and sweep operation. Everyone begins going through the place looking for valuable intel or the Contractor if he wasn't found yet."

Kaira pondered that thought for a while, "Yeah... Pretty similar to what I had in mind. Who should be what teams though?"

"I can be the infiltration team, I don't see why it's needs to be two people." I offer.

"Why should you go alone?" Kaira asked.

"Mostly because I'm pretty sure none of you can do this..." As soon as I finished my sentence I activated the cloak, much to their surprise, and walked behind Jackson again to decloak . "Unless," I begin, causing Jackson to jump again in surprise, getting a laugh out of Delina, "you guys have been holding out on us, I think I can handle myself."

"No argument there... But you should have someone else come with you." Garrus added.

"No, I don't want to detract from the fire power of the assault teams any more than needed. If you, Liara, and John take care of the back entrance, then Kaira, Delina, Rana, and Jackson can be the main infiltration team. The Contractor will be expecting them, but not us." I reasoned. "That way, when we make our appearance, they're going to be FUBAR, then after the base is clear we can blow it the fuck up."

"Wow... That's a plan I can live with." Delina commented.

"Ok people," John turned around, omni-tool activated, "Pressly got us those thermal scans. It seems that there are some vents like Garrus mentioned, but no signs of an escape route. He ran every scan he could and didn't find anything." He punched a few buttons on his omni-tool and brought up a holographic map with several points highlighted. "I say we go with Garrus' plan, but Ryan you _are_ taking someone with you. The rest of us will go in through the front gate after we get word from you on the lay out." He pointed to a dot on the map that was about 300 meters to our right on the mountain range and about 100 meters further up the mountain., "According to Pressly that's an intake vent, so Ryan and whoever goes with him will enter there and get us our intel. Meanwhile the rest of us will wait in the Mako for their signal. Chances are that their front door is reinforced with some heavy armor, so Ryan you'll need to find us some access codes, unless Garrus and Rana think they can hack it fast enough."

"Hold on... Better yet why don't I jam the door open? That'll provide you with a clear line of sight to deal with the goons inside, while giving me time to find the Contractor and the bases generators." I added.

John gave me a long hard stare. "... Alright, we'll do it your way. But you're taking someone with you."

"Calling all madmen soldiers…" Delina mocked, elbowing Jackson at the same time.

"Alright. I'll go." He confirmed.

I smiled. "I hope you're ready for some rock climbing Jackson."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"You know... It's been awhile since I've done any free form rock climbing." I called down to Jackson, "I think the last time I did was on a mission to take out Kim Jong Il... You wouldn't believe how much shit we went through for that one..."

When Jackson and I split off, I took the lead so I could find hand and foot holds that he could use. His medium weight armor wasn't nearly as flexible as was needed for rock climbing but the kid was hanging in there.

"Well... *pant* why don't you tell me?" He asked as he reached for the next foot hold, twisting his lower body to do so.

"Basically... Put your right hand there... We spent 2 weeks working our way from the Korean DMZ to Pyongyang, with no air support or backup. It was me with 4 Delta guys, I was specifically requested in case we ended up having to call in any potential orbital strike positions." Once I was sure Jackson had a good footing and had a moment to rest, I looked for our next set of hand and foot holds. The vent, which I could clearly see now, was only 40 meters above us now. "We had enough explosives with us to take out a tank column, but our primary weapon was the then prototype GK-8 Gauss rifle..." I spotted a new set of rocks we could use for our next set of holds and I jumped for them, the suit enhancing my strength and my finger dexterity to be able to hang onto just about anything. "It was with that beast of a rifle that our sniper took down Jong from over 2 miles away. When Command received intel that the entire KPA leadership was in the same building, they authorized me to call the first and only orbital strike."

Jackson, without needing to be told took my old position, but I could tell he was getting worn out. His pace was slowing and he was relying more on his legs for support rather than dispersing his weight amongst his hands and feet. "... *pant*... What happened next?"

"... The entire building became a crater when the 500 pound Tungsten slug hit from its weapons platform..." I looked up to see where the vent was, and it was still a ways off. I knew I could make it... I wasn't so sure about Jackson though. He strength was fading fast. "Hey Jackson... You know that biotic maneuver you used to meet up with us earlier?"

"... Yeah..."

"Think you can do that now to reach the vent?"

"... Maybe, but without knowing where any foot holds are I could fall down the damn mountain..."

_Hmm... It could work..._

"Alright here's what I'm going to do... I'm going to speed climb up to the vent and when I reach it I'll open it up. That way you have some time to rest, and when you're ready you can boost yourself up to me. Just be sure to have your arms out so I can grab you."

Jackson thought about it for a bit, "Alright, let me know when you're ready..."

Without saying anything I looked up and leaped for the first usable hand hold I saw. Grabbing it with my left, I swung my right up to the next hand hold. Without taking time to look for foot holds, I simply used the front of my thighs to help support myself. Thankfully, the suit helped to ease some of the strain on my shoulders as I pulled myself up further, not stopping for a break when I found a new hand hold. I continued that in manner until I reached the vent, which itself was simply a grating in the side of the mountain surrounded by rocks to help conceal it. Once I ripped off the grating, I saw that it was big enough for me to crawl in.

Once I got in I turned myself around, I stuck my head out to see where Jackson was at. "Jackson, I'm in position... You ready?" I radioed down to him.

"Yeah, I had to find some new hand holds, but I'm good. You ready to catch me?"

"Roger that," I brought myself out of the vent shaft until everything above my armpits were outside it, and I could clearly see Jackson.

"In 3... 2... 1..." As he counted down I could see his biotics flare a bit, then in an instant he was face to face with me. Out of instinct I grabbed him by his armor's torso piece and hauled him as close to me as I could. As gravity threatened to pull him down the mountain and me out of the shaft, I heard him grab a hold of the lip of the shaft halting his descent.

"Well... That's one way to climb a mountain..." He remarks as I let go of his armor and climb back inside the vent.

"Hope you got some fight in ya Jackson... Something tells me that we're in for a big one..." I reply as I begin to head down the shaft.

"Hell yeah."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"You had to say it didn't you?" Jackson asked.

"Say what?"

"'We're in for a big one'... That's as cliché as someone saying 'I've got a bad feeling about this'"

To his credit he was right. The ventilation shaft we entered led us directly into the main chamber of the base. Although small, these Contractor mercs definitely packed a lot of stuff inside. Once a person entered from the landing pad, they would be greeted by a large cargo area, where the cargo was dropped where ever there was room, saving a walk way through the middle, followed by numerous pre-fab buildings on either side of them. Each one of the prefabs were behind a solid steel wall as if each was a prison block. Beyond the prefabs was a motor pool housing everything from Grizzly's to Mako's to the transport trucks we saw on Trebin. Finally at the very back was a building obviously built from scratch that looked like a miniature medieval castle tower. That tower most likely was the main operations building, which meant that everyone we didn't see out here, was in there.

Beyond the night mare of trying to accurately sweep and clear a base like this, there were at least a battalions worth of troops in here, all armed and armored.(**A/N: Battalions can be anywhere from 300-1300 troops... We're gonna go with 500 to make things easy)** The good thing was that it seemed like their armor was exactly like it was on Trebin, so our gear should have no problem taking these guys on. It's going to be a matter of finding the right spots to hit.

"Alright Jackson, I'm open to suggestions."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"WHAT!" John and Kaira shouted simultaneously when Mitchell and Jackson reported in.

"Mitchell, that's extreme even for you." Garrus added.

"_No not really, and it's the only way we're going to have a shot at this. Once Jackson and I get a majority of the tanks rigged to blow, I'll cause another diversion inside to hopefully get all of their attention on me. That leaves Jackson free to go into the castle structure and begin mapping it out while you guys come in and sweep the cargo and prefab area."_

Everyone was silent for awhile trying to come up with a better plan based on the scans that Mitchell and Jackson got. While the layout was there, the internal layouts of the prefabs and that castle at the very back of the base was concerning. For all anyone knew they continued deeper into the mountain and house even more troops.

"Although I do not like this plan, I can't think of an alternate one that would allow us to accomplish our objectives in an orderly fashion." Rana stated matter of factly.

"Are we sure that blowing up the motor pool won't destabilize the entire cavern?" Kaira asked.

"_There are no guarantees, but if that does happen, we'll have to move quickly to get out which is why you guys won't enter until I give the signal." _Mitchell replied.

"Wait! Goddess, I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier… Jackson, you have my custom firmware running on your omni-tool?" Rana asked.

"_Yes... Oh! I know where you're going with this! You want to hack into their comms and get all of them to come to the motor pool so they all get taken out by the blast!"_

Rana smiled at Jackson's ability to guess her thoughts, "Exactly... Now just give me a few minutes and I'll see what I can get us..."

After a few minutes, Rana was able to use the connection between her and Jackson's omni-tool to hack into the bases network. "Alright, I believe I have access to everything... The original Contractors network firewalls were much more complex. Whoever this replacement is clearly does not have the same agenda as their predecessor."

"Do they have security cams in the network you're in?" John asked.

"One moment... Yes they do... It seems that their entire operation runs off of the same server. Whoever designed this system is an amateur at best." Rana commented as she sent the data from the cameras to everyone's omni-tools. When they got the feeds, everyone started going through them to familiarize themselves with the layout.

"_Um... Guys?"_ Jackson called out. _"I got something... and it's not pretty. Rana bring up feed 342 on everyone's omnitools."_

Rana typed a few commands into her omni-tool and brought the requested feed up.

"What the hell is going on here?" John asked.

"Spirits..." Garrus muttered.

"Goddess help them..." Liara murmured.

Kaira, Rana, and Delina were all silent when they saw the feed. The camera showed a man strapped to a table, except he wasn't a man any more. With some sort of green fluid being pumped into him intravenously, his body was mutated nearly to the point of not being human. His muscles had grown to twice the normal proportions, but had broken through the skin leaving his body open for a myriad of infections, which could be seen in the various fluids that were being secreted by his immune system. While there was no sound, it was clear that the man was in constant pain as his body thrashed against the tables restraints.

"I can't believe that, whoever this guy is, he found that part of the Contractor's research..." Kaira lamented.

"What do you mean?" John asked.

Kaira sighed, "When we first started our little war, we came across a station that had gone dark. We investigated it, and found the crew. However they were all crazed and had been exposed to some sort of virus that turned them into mindless beings with some physical mutations. We later found that the Contractor was testing a virus that was meant to help strengthen an individual and turn them into more capable fighter. It would appear that whoever is behind this found that same research but has taken it a step further."

"_Yeah... This is looking like a Doctor Mengele kind of guy here..." _Mitchell commented. _"I've gone through feeds 343 through 380 and each of them show a different person going through different 'treatments'. It's not just humans either, there are Turians, Asari, Salarians, even Hanar. He has one of every species in here..."_

"If I'm reading the coding correctly, these feeds are coming from those prefabs, and there is nothing else in there. For all intents and purposes, those are individual laboratories." Rana explained.

"What is this mad man after?" Garrus wondered out loud.

"I don't know," John started, "But it's ending here! Ryan, you rig those tanks to blow but do not provide any distraction. Once you blow those rigs, I'm bringing the Mako straight into the base. You and Jackson be ready to hit them from behind with everything you got. This Contractor is going to get his license to live revoked."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Well Jackson," I asked as I checked my grenades to be sure they were on remote detonation, "You ready for this?" We had moved from our initial hiding spot, which was right by where the ventilation shafts were, down to the main floor of the base and by the motor pool. We each had roughly 5 grenades, and there were 16 vehicles total.

"Yeah... It's gonna be tough though making sure that we aren't spotted." He lamented. In order to destroy the various tanks, we would have to drop the grenades inside of them since their outer armor was built to withstand small arms fire. "You on the other hand should have no problem."

"That's true, which is why I'm taking the ones on the far side of the base." I replied and unstrapped one of my combat knifes and held it out for Jackson to take. "Here, take this so you don't have to use your biotics right away."

He gave me a hesitant look before grabbing it, "Thanks."

Rather than say anything I simply cloaked and began my trip straight across the motor pool. _Whoever set up this base wasn't thinking... You'd want your vehicles to be able to get outside ASAP, not have to __maneuver around a bunch of prefabs and a cargo area..._ My thoughts nearly cost me my cover as a trio of Asari began to walk near me, talking about how this was the easiest job they had. Before one of them could bump into me, I managed to hop up onto a Grizzly tank. _Clearly they don't know what's going on..._

Once I planted the grenade inside the Grizzly, I climbed inside to decloak and recharge my energy levels. A minute later and I was back up to full power. Climbing out of the Grizzly, I quickly scanned the area for signs of Jackson. There were several mercs walking around idly talking or taking inventory of their supplies, just when I thought Jackson was nowhere to be seen I saw him crawling around _underneath_ the tanks and using their emergency escape hatches to plant his grenades! _Smart kid..._

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_Ungh... I'm sure if Delina were here she would find a way to mock me crawling around under tanks like a damn Pyjak..._ I had already planted three of my grenades, and with two left, I was waiting for an opportunity to crawl over to the next tank. With so many of these damn Contractor mercs running around, it was a little nerve racking.

"Hey Foreman, that Mako there is scheduled to have its eezo core taken out!" I heard the distinct voice of a Batarian yell out. A pair of feet walked over to the aisle separating my current hiding place and my next 'safe-zone'.

"You mean this one?" A human male voice yelled back.

"That's the one! Get it prepped!"

_DAMN!_

"Roger that!"

Thinking fast, I pulled out the knife that Mitchell gave me. I wasn't ever that comfortable using actual knifes, preferring my biotic-blades, but in this situation I really had no other choice.

"All right, first things first let's take a look underneath..." The guy muttered to himself as he got down on his back. When he brought his head down, our eyes met and there was silence for a fraction of a second.

"HEY! What are you do- UNGH!" The man who had been about to raise the alarm suddenly had a knife sticking out of the top of his head, which was quickly removed.

Without trying to raise more alarm, I pulled the body under the Mako so that it would like the merc was still working away…and the blood wouldn't run out into sight. Then I continued to plant the grenade through the emergency hatch.

Checking to make sure the area was clear, I crawled over to the next tank. _Finally, one more and no more of this sneaking around crap..._

As I reached up for the emergency hatch's handle, I suddenly paused as I heard a feminine scream... Followed by a guy grunting. _You have got to be kidding me!_ _Out of all the times to be doing that…__Damn mercs. They don't work hard, but they do… Never mind. _I thought as I waited for a break in the action.

"Jackson! What's taking so long?" Mitchell called over.

"Let's just say that when the tanks a-rockin', don't go knockin'" I quipped.

After a few moments of silence, all I heard was a muttered "Goddamnit..."

"Should I just plant the grenade right by the emergency hatch? It's the weakest point in the tanks armor..."

"Yeah... That's going to have to do the job..." He sighed.

"Ok, planting the 'nade now." Once I secured it to the hatch and ignoring the particularly loud squeal from inside the tank, I checked my surroundings to see if the coast was clear. There were no feet in the vicinity and it appeared that no one was looking in my direction so I took my chance and crawled out the back of the tank. I stood up and began to make my over the rendezvous spot.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!" I heard a Batarians voice yell from behind me, _Perfect..._ "GET OUT HERE NOW!" The sound of some kind of gun being unfolded persuaded me to do so. Judging by the sound of it, he was working inside the tank next to the one I just got out of and happened to come out when I crawled out. "Boss, I've got an intruder here, what do you want me to do with him?"

He didn't know I was a biotic… so that helped. I could wait a little bit before skewering him… although he did take my own shotgun right from my back.

"**Take him to lab 391, I can always use more test subjects...**" A rather ominous voice spoke from the Batarian's omni-tool.

"Roger that, come on you piece of filth." The Batarian nudged me with a shotgun in the back. "I don't know who you are but you just found yourself in hell." He spoke as he guided me back to the prefabs.

"Damnit Jackson!" I heard Mitchell curse in my comm set, "Keep him talking, once he gets you outside of the motor pool you'll know when to act."

_Great plan... Antagonize the merc whose trying to lead me to a grisly operating room... Not like I haven't done it before..._

"So, what brought you here to work with the Contractor?" I asked innocently as we walked amongst the other mercs who didn't even pay attention to us.

"None of your fucking business!" He replied as he shoved me in the back again with his shotgun. I stayed quiet while observing my surroundings. In the corners of my eyes, I swear I saw a couple mercs drop for no reason.

"Was it money? Or do you just like rounding up innocent people and torturing them?" I asked as we got near the divide between the motor pool and the pre-fabs. In response, I got a hard shove which sent me to the ground. Once I hit the ground I turned around, only to see my shotgun taken from my back pointed in my face.

"How about it's because I get to beat the pulp out of idiot humans like yourself and after use their own weapons to kill them!" The Batarian snarled.

"Now I find that to be a very poor reason to base your employment on," I heard the smug voice of Mitchell reply seemingly from nowhere.

"Who the hell is that!" The Batarian yelled out as his head spun around to look for the source of the voice. Behind him though, I saw Mitchell decloak with a knife in one hand. Mitchell tapped the Batarian on the shoulder, and when he spun around, Mitchell thrust the knife into the Batarian's heart and using his other hand lifted him up off the ground by the neck.

"Your worst nightmare..." Mitchell answered as he twisted the knife before pulling it back out.

"INTRUDERS!" I heard someone yell from behind Mitchell. Not even panicking, Mitchell activated his blue omni-tool and turned around.

"Well... Looks like the gigs up... Time for you lousy Contractor mercs to get out of here..." He announced simply. I looked around us and on either side of us all of the mercs we saw patrolling the area had their guns aimed at us.

"What makes you think we're going to be the ones to leave?" An Asari stepped forward, having a slightly different armor styling than the rest. "I have 200 mercs here all armed aiming at the two of you, what do you possibly think you can accomplish besides suicide?"

Mitchell stood there for a second before answering, "You know, you must not know who I am... Or what I'm capable of... Otherwise you all would have pissed yourselves and ran out of here screaming like little girls..."

The lead Asari looked at him for a bit before doubling over laughing, "Oh that's a good one! I don't know where you got your silly looking armor from or your sense of humor, but it seems to me that you forgot to pick up some common sense! I have 200 guns trained on you, all I have to do is give the command and your dead!"

"That may be true... But can your men hit what they can't see?" Mitchell replied.

The next second seemed to take an eternity to pass. As soon as Mitchell finished talking he activated the grenades. The explosions inside the tanks, while normally not enough to damage the outer hulls, wreaked havoc inside, causing the tanks to explode from the inside. The initial shockwave threw all the mercs down to the ground. Before any fuel could ignite, Mitchell gave me a nod and started running faster than humanly possible. Forgoing sprinting, I slung my shoulders forward to charge to the end of the motor pool. Stopping by some crates that were stacked opposite of each other, I unslung the assault rifle and quickly scanned the area. Mitchell appeared by me soon after, and tossed me my shotgun.

By the time we got set up on the other side of the motor pool, the fuels inside the tanks ignited, creating a bigger explosion. All the mercs that were in the motor pool area were either knocked down from the overpressure or killed by some shrapnel. The mercs in the pre-fab area were relatively unscathed, merely disoriented.

The mercs left standing began looking around for us, only to have a Mako come barreling through their main door! While it was plowing through the cargo area, the Mako's cannon began its job of cutting down the mercs in front of it, their armor serving little purpose in stopping the cannon's rounds.

I leaned up to start taking some shots with my new assault rifle, then I heard Mitchell cry out "Ha! I got the perfect song for this!" His omnitool again lit up and shut back down. At first I didn't hear anything, but when I heard the opening lyrics I smiled like a mad man.

**Let the bodies hit the floor**

**Let the bodies hit the floor**

**Let the bodies hit the floor**

**Let the bodies hit the floooooor!**

We both came up from our cover, assault rifles up and ready to spread death. We each took a side of the base, I took care of any targets on our right, while Mitchell took any on the left. The mercs caught in the middle between Mitchell's and my fire and the Mako's were done for.

**One - Nothing wrong with me**

**Two - Nothing wrong with me**

**Three - Nothing wrong with me**

**Four - Nothing wrong with me**

The Mako crew got out of the tank, the remaining Mercs having learned to stay in cover to avoid its deadly fire. Just when I was ready to join up with Shepard and Kaira, I felt Mitchell tap on my shoulder.

"Don't worry about them, we have our own problems" He spoke quietly as the song continued to blare through his suits speakers. I turned around and saw something that made my heart race. The rest of the Contractor mercs that we didn't see initially in the main part of the base began to pour out of the castle like structure.

One - Something's got to give

**Two - Something's got to give**

**Three - Something's got to give**

**Now**

Mitchell and I without thinking raced forward towards the castle, firing our rifles into the crowd of mercs. Their armor and shields obviously were never meant to take on Spectre level weapons, 3 shots per merc did the trick for most of them.

**Let the bodies hit the floor!**

**Let the bodies hit the floor!  
**

**Let the bodies hit the flooooor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the flooooor !**

_Whoever designed this base obviously never thought it through... _I thought to myself. Jackson and I reached our cover from earlier and simply kneeled there letting our rifles do most of the work. The idiotic mercs who were too stupid to get out of our line fire died quickly. The ones that were smart enough to take cover we would have to deal with later. I checked the 'gate' of the castle and saw that the initial rush of mercs had slown down.

However standing at the gates, were 4 individuals in what appeared to be specialized armor, probably to denote some kind of leadership positions in the Contractor ranks. Two of them were Asari, one was a Turian, and one was the biggest Krogan I had seen. Now Wrex and I met eye to eye and that wasn't including his hump, but this guy was a literal giant of a Krogan.

Those four just watched Jackson and I mow down their mercs who didn't make it to cover. The ones who did began to take pot shots at us with their own rifles, shot guns, and pistols. After trading some fire with these well trained mercs, their fire suddenly stopped.

"Well, I never thought I'd see the day. Forrest Jackson and the 517th Commandos we finally meet." One of the Asari started. I looked to Jackson who looked as perplexed as I did.

"I'm sorry but I'm absolutely HORRIBLE with names!" He yelled out.

"HA! My name matters not, just know you killed my sister who worked for the original Contractor. Although you and T'Suni may have brought some allies with you, you will not leave here alive."

I had to laugh at that one, "You know, that has GOT to be the most overused and cliché phrase by bad guys in movies. I oughta take you out right now just to save myself the headache of hearing anymore of your speech!"

"Who the hell do you think you are!" The Asari yelled. I quick thought up a message to send to Jackson's omni-tool to let him know my plan of attack. If done correctly, the way the trained mercs had arranged themselves in cover, which was simply waist high steel walls about three feet wide that were scattered around in front of the castle, we would be able to take them all out.

"Me? I'm just a guy from a small town on Earth... More importantly Jackson and I are the ones who are gonna kick your blue ass into oblivion!"

Jackson thankfully was able to read the message fast enough, and sprang into action as I qued up the ass kicking song again.

**Now!  
Push me again  
This is the end  
Here we go!  
Here we go!  
Here we go!**

When Mitchell sent me a message on my omni-tool, I was stunned at how he managed to send it without typing it in his own omni-tool. Never the less, I read it as fast as I could. When he finished antagonizing the Contractor mercs, I immediately proceeded to charge to the closest merc in cover I could see.

The sheer suddenness of the move, combined with the music Mitchell was playing caught the mercs off guard as I pulled my shotgun out and fired it point blank at the goon's chest.

**One - Nothing wrong with me  
Two - Nothing wrong with me  
Three - Nothing wrong with me  
Four - Nothing wrong with me**

With the mercs in disarray at our quick attack, I sprinted to the closest merc I could see. The young woman was holding an old assault rifle. Not giving her time to react, I simply grabbed one of my knives and using a back hand grip cleanly sliced through her neck and began looking for my next target.

**One - Something's got to give  
Two - Something's got to give  
Three - Something's got to give  
Now  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the flooooor!**

With the initial shock wore off, the mercs in cover began to fire back. Thankfully, while they were better trained than the amateurs from before, their aim still sucked. My shields were holding, so I didn't have to worry about generating a barrier yet. A shot gun wielding Turian decided to try to rush me, unfortunately for him I spotted him and charged at him. With a biotic blade formed I stabbed him cleanly through his armor.

Then using his body as a mobile shield, I maneuvered my way onto my next target.

**Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!**

After getting past my second target I found myself in an awkward position. Two goons wielding shotguns were on either side of me, and I had no cover from them. The only way I had to go was forward, and when I heard the tell tale sign of a carnage shot being prepped I waited half a heart beat before bolting from that spot.

Without looking back and judging from the screams, I figured it was safe to assume that the two carnage shots missed each other and hit the opposing shot gunners. _Damn glad to have speed mode in times like this..._

**Skin against skin blood and bone  
You're all by yourself but you're not alone  
You wanted in now you're here  
Driven by hate  
consumed by fear**

_You've gone down once, you'll go down again, Contractor._ Rather than risk any lucky shots hitting me, I was consistently charging in close to my next target and shot gunning them point blank and quickly moving onto my next target before any of the remaining mercs could get a bead on me.

**Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floooooooor!**

After the last merc got a lucky burst of assault rifle fire off that managed to deplete my energy levels in armor mode, I decided to switch up tactics. After sticking in cover for a few seconds, I put my assault rifle back on its rack and pulled out the AM-1 while cloaking. When I stood up, I looked around for my best shot. With Jackson charging all over the damn place, the mercs weren't watching where I went off too and began to focus solely on Jackson. _Big mistake..._ I thought as 4 mercs, two humans and two Turians lined up directly in front of me to try and form a firing line against Jackson. _Couldn't have __timed it better even if I planned it._

When I decloaked, the AM-1's power cell was fully charged. The merc closest to me just started to turn to face me when I fired the ridiculously powerful gun. The tungsten bolt traveled the distance between the end of the barrel and the beginning of the merc in less time than it took for a synapse to occur. The mercs shields did nothing to protect him from the bolt, so when it hit his armor the bolt mildly flattened but continued straight on through the center of his chest. The kinetic energy of the bolt transferred enough into the merc to cause him to fly back into the Turian behind him. Before the first mercs body could even begin to fly off his feet, the bolt did the same to the Turian. Encountering more resistance though the bolt began to flatten considerably and start to take on a shot gun effect. The Turian suddenly had a massive entry wound the size of his head while the exit wound encompassed nearly the whole of his back. The Turians natural plating further increased the bolts shot gunning effect, and the human behind him was instantly shredded by the beyond hypersonic hunks of tungsten. The final Turian got the end result of the bolt, which by that point was flattened and shredded to the point of looking like a crushed hard candy. The upper half of his body simply disappeared.

All of that took less than a blink of an eye.

_Damn..._

**One - Nothing wrong with me  
Two - Nothing wrong with me  
Three - Nothing wrong with me  
Four - Nothing wrong with me**

**One - Something's got to give  
Two - Something's got to give  
Three - Something's got to give  
Now!**

With only a handful of Contractor goons left, the four in captain's armor came down from the castle to join us in the fray. The two Asari came in my direction while the Turian and Krogan went by Mitchell.

I was reaching the limit of biotic ability, so rather than charge and shotgun the last merc on my side, I dove into cover. The merc I had just killed had a grenade on him, so I quick grabbed that. Priming it I took a quick peek over my cover to see how far the other goon was.

Setting the grenade to explode on proximity, I threw it just hard enough to make it over the waist high metal barricades that were set up everywhere.

Half a second later I was rewarded with the sound of an explosion going off

**Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the floor!  
Let the bodies hit the flooooor!**

Looking over I saw Jackson finish off his last merc. I unfortunately had an idiot who thought he could sneak up on me. Staying in my current spot, I waited for the goon to point his shot gun at my head before I cloaked and ducked out of the way of his shot.

The man needless to say went wide eyed with shock at my disappearance. Before he could do anything, I moved around him and tapped him on the shoulder. When he spun around, I punched him in the temple hard enough to cause a severe concussion but not hard enough to kill him.

**Let the bodies hit the floor  
Let the bodies hit the floor  
Let the bodies hit the floor!**

"ENOUGH!" A new voice, louder and deeper resounded right as the song ended. The two Asari, Turian, and Krogan immediately stopped in their movements to attack Jackson and Mitchell. Instead they returned to the entrance of the castle. There, a giant of a man, taller and more muscular than Mitchell exited. Wearing some kind of black over coat, the guy had slicked back jet black hair and pale skin. With his square jaw and overall stature, he looked like he belonged on some ancient battle ground rather than leading an 'elite' merc group.

"You four, go guard the generators, no doubt that Spectre T'Suni will attempt to overload them to destroy our work here." The newcomer ordered, and the four captains obeyed immediately. "I will admit Forrest Jackson you have proven yourself to be quite the vanguard. If only you were willing to see the bigger picture and join me."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Why the hell would I join you!" I yelled back, "I've seen what you're doing in those pre-fabs! What good can come of it!"

The giant of a man, who I could only assume to be the new Contractor, just laughed. "Oh my, the old Contractor's records on you were quite clear on how defiant you are... Ah Spectre T'Suni! Rana T'Lan! Delina T'Kasan! Glad you could join us!"

I turned my head slightly and out of the corner of my eye I could see the forms of the commandos along with Shepard, Garrus, and Liara finally make it up to us.

"Sorry we kept you waiting!" Delina sneered, "You missed a few mercs back there, boys!"

The Contractor laughed again to himself, "You know T'Suni is doesn't matter if your brought the Lion of Elysium with you, you all will fail. My Captain's are guarding this base's power core, which is tied into a dormant volcanoes magma chamber. You blow that and you blow this mountain up with yourselves."

"Wouldn't be the first time we've faced a situation like that," I muttered.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

While the Contractor was busy talking his head off, I quick sent a message to everyone on our squad comms. "Everyone listen up! I'm going to distract this guy and when I do you all head on inside to take care of the Captain's which are 2 Asari, a Turian, and a Krogan. I'll handle this guy."

When everyone's heads turned to look at me, I took my chance. "So, what is the bigger picture then?"

The Contractor glared at me since I interrupted him mocking the 517th, "Seriously, if this plan of your was _so _huge, why didn't you hire better mercenaries, or even train them! Then add in what looked like some serious steroid research and it would seem to me that someone is trying to compensate by having huge muscles!"

The Contractor's eyes flared with anger, "You think you know what it is I'm doing here? Well why don't I show you!" He reached inside his over coat and pulled out a vial of some red fluid. "May I present the Gamma-Iteration. Years of research to create the best soldiers out of any spices finally come to fruition!" He then grabbed something else from his overcoat, what appeared to be an injector of some sort and put the vial in it.

"Uh... Guys..." I said as he stuck the injector into his neck, "Go... NOW!" As soon as the Contractor pulled the trigger on the injector, his body immediately began convulsing.

"You heard him! Let's go!" John yelled as he led the way into the castle, but not everyone followed. Jackson came up and stood next to me.

"Jackson, what the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked as I watched the Contractors body begin to grow, muscle mass increasing, limbs becoming longer, his once human cries of agony becoming yells of some beast.

"We started this together," He stated cocking his shotgun, "We'll end it together."

The Contractors body simply kept mutating, with tentacle like appendages coming out from his back through the black over coat, his mouth enlarging to the point where his lips tore apart revealing all of his teeth. Probably the most painful looking part of this transformation was his skull seemingly becoming like putty and being inflated. One of his eye sockets collapsed in on itself, leaving only his right eye for sight.

After what seemed like an eternity, the animalistic sounds of agony ended, leaving only labored breathing by the hulking form in front of Jackson and I that slowly stood up. When I first saw the Contractor, I gauged his height to be between 6'7"-6'8" and at least 275 pounds. Now though, with his mutations complete, he looked more like 7' easy and probably tipped the scales at 350 pounds. _This is not going to be an easy fight..._

"You see Jackson..." The mutated Contractor spoke, his voice even deeper than before, "I am the pinnacle of evolution."

"Yeah well, even evolution has hit dead ends," He dead panned as he let loose with his shotgun and diving for cover. The rounds penetrated the over coat in the stomach, but had no visible effect on the Contractor's new body. Only some thick fluid, too thick to be blood, seeped out.

Running forward I used all of my natural strength to see what I could do with a straight punch to his face. My fist connected with what used to be his mouth...

… At best I jarred a tooth loose.

"HAHAHA! I hope you have more than that to give otherwise this is going to be a long day for you!" The Contractor bellowed. He stepped forward with a lung punch, I just barely dodged it by sacrificing my footing.

Which he took advantage of by sweeping my legs. Keeping my cool I twisted my body so I could do a handstand-back flip. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to set up for another attack, the Contractor came in with a roundhouse kick which I avoided with a suit-enhanced jump. Taking advantage of my extra fall time I set up a drop kick...

Which connected with the side of his head which he had turned from missing with the round house. The Contractor went stumbling while I fell to the ground.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

After trying out my shot gun to see how much tougher this guy had become, I had to wait for an opportunity to join the fray. If I came in at the wrong time, I would throw everything off for Mitchell. Thankfully it seemed like Mitchell had some excellent martial arts training, as I was having a hard time watching the fight. Both Mitchell and the mutated Contractor were moving at speeds much faster than what normal humans do.

When Mitchell jumped up to dodge a round house kick, I saw my opportunity. I formed my biotic-blades, ready to see how the Contractor would handle them. Right as Mitchell landed an epic drop kick, I charged in with my biotics.

The burst at the end of the charge caused the Contractor to stumble back, giving me an opening to slice off one of his tentacles. That earned me a roar of pain from him, as well as the other tentacles attempting to grab my arms. I hacked any that got close enough, but the damn things kept regenerating!

The tentacles stopped their onslaught as the Contractor got back up and turned towards me with what I assumed to be a smile. After his smile faded, he charged right at me. _Uh-oh..._

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Jackson's moves bought me time to jury rig some punch knifes on to my suit, making me look sort of like Wolverine only with a big combat knife on each hand instead of three claws. This way I should hopefully be able to inflict some more damage, punches and kicks just weren't cutting it.

Right as I finished, I saw Jackson was in trouble. He managed to hack off a couple of those weird tentacle things, but they grew right back. _Damn... Looks like we are going to have to either destroy his brain or blow him up into a million pieces... _Now the Contractor began a charge, thankfully while his punches and kicks were as fast as mine, he couldn't run faster than a drunk Krogan.

I boosted over to the spot right in front of Jackson, and engaged strength mode. _Time to see what happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force..._

Watching the Contractor's every step, I saw him wind up a right handed punch. As he brought it forward, I stopped it with a punch of my own with my left, the punch knife a fraction too high to stab his hand. I didn't feel the initial impact, but a half second after when I opened my fist up to grab his to hold his punch back, I could tell something busted inside my hand.

_**/Warning... Severe User Damage... Emergency Nano-cell production initiated.../**_

The pain in my hand dulled from a literal inferno to a throbbing.

_**/Nanoshell hardening... Localized hardening complete.../**_

The Contractor attempted to punch with his other hand, but during his wind up I took the opportunity to divert all my energy to a single punch to the side of his head. The improvised punch knife penetrated his skull by what used to be his temporal lobe. Not taking a chance, I twisted my wrist, causing the knife to break off at the hilt.

Unfortunately, with the nanosuit having hardened itself around my left hand, I couldn't let go of the Contractor's fist and even after having been stabbed in the head, the monster was still alive albeit having trouble.

"Fuck's sake..." I muttered...

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

As I watched Mitchell literally stop a freight train, I couldn't help but be in awe until I heard something break. Not knowing whose body it came from, I did the only thing I could do. Get into position to cut the Contractor's head off.

Mitchell beat me to it, having somehow rigged up a knife on each of his hands for a Wolverine style blade and punching the Contractor in the head and twisting the blade off. _I wonder if I could pull that off with my biotics... Something to train for later..._

What should have been the killing blow only seemed to slow down the man turned monster, and it seemed that Mitchell for whatever reason couldn't let go of the Contractor's hand. _Well... Might as well help him out..._

I jumped over to Mitchell's left side and swung a biotic blade down on the Contractor's wrist, causing him to let out a guttural roar. The hand in Mitchell's grasp went limp and fell, while his hand stayed in its current state. _Must have been his hand breaking that I heard... _Mitchell groaned a bit, probably from having busted nearly every bone in his hand to bits, and straightened up.

"Well Jackson..." He sighed, "Last time I checked there is only one way to kill a godamned zombie..." The Contractor's body then straightened up, but more mutations began to take place. The muscle mass that was bulky and cumbersome shrunk down giving the body a more appropriate muscle size. In all honestly, it still looked ripped but now it looked like it had more speed to it.

Mitchell looked from the Contractors changing form to me, "... Removing the head , destroying the brain... or blowing it the fuck up beyond any recognition!"

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_Of course it would take more than a simple knife stab to the head to kill this guy…_ Now that the Contractor had mutated once again, he seemed to possess a wiry strength and speed that you'd see from people who are into a lot of sports but don't weight lift. That's when my days of being a teenager who watched zombie flicks came into play.

Looking around I saw that there were some fusion containment cells around, a quick shot gun blast to one of them would cause an explosion similar to the HE grenades we used on the tanks earlier. The trick would be keeping the Contractor distracted enough for one of us to get a cell, throw it near him, and let the other get away before blowing the containment cell up.

"Jackson, on the count of three, we are going to run up and cut him down at the knees!" I ordered. Jackson didn't reply and simply nodded, forming his biotic blades. The Contractor understood our plan, and immediately began charging at us, moving several times faster than before.

"THREE!" I yelled, and began my sprint towards the Contractor. With the two of us charging at him while he was coming at us, the distance between us closed quickly. Grabbing my last knife and holding it in a reverse grip again, I saw the Contractor begin to wind up a punch for either me or Jackson. To avoid it, I pulled the slide maneuver I did on Feros while concentrating on forcing the blade right through the Contractor's leg below the knee. Jackson had an easier time on his side, his biotic blade slicing through the tissue and bone with no difficulty.

As I slid past the Contractor I punched out the now cut leg, causing him to fall onto his face midstride. I jumped up quickly, ready to continue incapacitating him if need be.

"Jackson! Grab a containment cell and get it right next to him!" I ordered as I moved up to the Contractors now flaying body. I pulled up my rifle, and was stunned at the sight before me.

Whatever the Gamma-Iteration was, it was slowly regrowing the lower half of his legs! While a scientific miracle, I had no time to admire it as the Contractor managed to flip himself over to his back. Before I could use my rifle to dismember him further, one of his tentacles shot out and slapped it out of my hands! Having no time to grab my pistol, I did the only thing I could do.

With my left hand, which still had the jury-rigged knife on it, I punched down onto his throat hoping to get deep enough to sever something vital that couldn't regenerate quickly. Again busting the blade inside the Contractor's body, I used all of my strength and suit's remaining energy in a singular right handed punch on top of the spot that I left the knife in.

That got me some results, the Contractor spat up some blood and began make sounds like he was choking. Jackson got the containment cell over to me at that point along with a grenade that he must have grabbed from a merc's body. Not taking any more time, I ripped off a section of the Contractor's already torn overcoat and tied the cell to his body while priming and shoving the grenade into his mouth.

"Get back Jackson!" I yelled, and he complied by grabbing me and sending us both into a biotic charge to the spot we used for cover when we blew the tanks in the motor pool.

As soon as we both ducked down behind cover, the grenade went off, causing the fusion containment cell to go with it amplifying the explosion. I thought the overpressure alone would cause the ceiling of the cavern to collapse, which thankfully it didn't. Once the flames and shrapnel subsided we both looked over our cover to see what was left of the Contractor if anything.

All that was left was a blackened circular crater in the rocky floor with absolutely no traces of the Contractor left.

"_Mitchell! What the hell was that?"_ I heard John yell over the squad comm.

I looked to Jackson and he simply shrugged. "Just doing what I do best John, how are things going on your end?"

"_Just fine, those Captains of the Contractor's were good but not good enough for a squad of Commandos bolstered by the three of us. Rana has the base's power generator set to go off in a few minutes, so we'll be getting out of here shortly..."_

"Roger that John, see ya when you get out here."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Waiting for Kaira and the other to come back up was boring compared to what Mitchell and I just went through to take this guy out. I finally had a chance to examine the base a bit more, and discovered that the prefabs continued into the mountain range _and_ underground. Who knew how many people the Contractor tortured and mutated to come up with that virus which in the end did him no good. Had it only been the four of us Commandos, things might not have gone so smoothly, so there was that to consider.

I also loved the Spectre rifle Mitchell gave to me, it hardly overheated and was nearly accurate enough to double as medium range sniper... _If only they still made attachable scopes..._

"Jackson! What the hell happened here?" I heard Delina yell as she saw the blackened crater from Mitchell's impromptu biohazard cleaning methods.

I put the Spectre rifle on my back and turned to her, "Nothing much... We just blew up the Contractor after he mutated... For a second time..."

"I take it the fight went ok then?" John asked, not really noticing the crater.

"Well..." Mitchell started, "Let's just say my left hand may be out of commission for a while..." he held up his hand which was still stuck in the same form as before. It looked like he was constantly making the gesture to Force-choke someone. In a rush of blue, I saw Liara rush to his side to examine his hand. "It's ok Liara, the suit amped up the amount of nanocells in my body to fix it..." He said softly.

"Ok that explains why your hand is stuck like that, but why are there knife handles stuck on the top of them?" Garrus asked.

Mitchell looked up, "Funny you should mention that. You se-". Suddenly the ground shook and we could hear something rumbling beneath the surface.

"RANA! You said that we'd have 10 minutes to get out of here!" Delina yelled as we all started to run out of the base.

"My apologies! But I have never blown up a base inside a mountain before!" She yelled back.

"MOVE IT PEOPLE!" Kaira shouted at the two of them.

Without looking, I could tell the ground was cracking beneath my feet as I ran through the motor pool, passing the burned out husks of the tanks. When we reached the pre-fabs, I had to stop.

"Commander!" I yelled, and all three, Kaira, Shepard, and Mitchell stopped.

"WHAT!"

"What about the people in the pre-fabs? Don't they deserve a chance to live?"

"Jackson, we don't have the time. I hate to say it but those people died a long time ago." Shepard said somberly.

"But we can't just leave them!"

"This is NOT something I take lightly!" Shepard yelled, "We stay any longer and we risk ourselves! I admire your intentions Jackson but which is wisest thing to do? Leave and fight another day or stay to try and save those who can't be saved?"

Logically I knew he was right, but deep down I knew I would hate myself for it. Rather than open my mouth to argue, I simply started running again. Garrus and Rana had already made it to the Mako and began starting it up.

By the time we all managed to pile into the tank, Shepard has climbed over everyone and into the driver's seat, earning a groan from Delina while the rest of us just strapped in. Without looking, Shepard threw the tank into reverse while firing the front two thrusters to dislodge the Mako's nose from a crate it smashed into. The tank unfortunately wouldn't budge. I looked through the windshield, and saw the cracks in the cavern floor give way to small lava flows.

"Uh... Shepard..." Garrus muttered

"I know..." he replied as he hit the thrusters and gas again.

"Shepard..." Garrus called down from his spot in the gunner's chair,

"I know!"

Mitchell without warning, undid his harness and leapt out of the tank!

"Ryan! What are you doing!" Liara cried out.

"Saving you guys!" He called out. I could see him through the windshield as he got below the tank. The lava flows were getting more numerous and began to pool together, while they hadn't reached the cargo area yet it was noticeably hotter. The Mako then lurched as we all heard Mitchell give out a deafening roar, one that would make a Krogan cringe. Shepard hit the gas again and the tank finally moved! To reveal Mitchell, kneeling on the ground, breathing becoming labored.

"DAMNIT RYAN!" Shepard yelled, "GET BACK ON THE MAKO!"

I could see Mitchell make an attempt to stand, but fell onto the ground. Without hesitation, Liara undid her harness as well and stood up through the Mako's main hatch. Her biotics flared, and I could see Mitchell's body rising from the effects of a Pull. Unlike a normal Pull, Liara used her biotics to guide his body to the Mako's hull. Shepard drove the Mako forward and closer to the ever growing lava pool that had once been the Contractor base.

Suddenly Liara came back down into her seat with Mitchell's upper half of his body hanging down. Shepard the kicked the Mako into overdrive as we shot backwards like a bat out of hell. Mitchell's body folded in half from the acceleration, only for Liara to try and bring him fully inside the tank. She managed to get him in with an unceremonious thud, then using her biotics got him into the seat between me and her. The entire time this was going on, Shepard had radioed the Normandy for a landing zone, which would be a few minutes drive due to a sizable section of the mountain range suddenly blowing volcanic ash into the air.

* * *

**Ling Shan Island**

**August 20****th****, 2020**

_An inhuman scream filled my team's and my ears..._

"_Damnit! We're only a klick away from the LZ!" One of the corporal's complained in agony. We had lost 5 of our team already to the damn aliens. My team of Pararescuer's had jumped on to this damn island to help get some pilots, who had crashed on air strike runs, out of danger, but so far we've lost more men than we rescued._

_Coming out from a valley we were totally exposed to any alien threat around us with the only cover a small forest a couple hundred meters to our right. I took a quick look behind us and saw something that caused everyone's heart to sink._

_One of the Aliens giant walkers, Hunters the guys were calling them, was coming towards us. Sweeping a scanning light of some kind over us, it let out another roar, opening what appeared to be its mouth._

"_Johansen!" I yelled to my second in command. "Give me your Gauss rifle and all your grenades, take everyone to the tree line while I distract this sonuvabitch!"_

"_But Sir! You can't possibly take that thing down by yourself!" The young sergeant retorted._

"_I don't intend to kill it, only to hold its attention long enough to buy you guys time!" I grabbed his Gauss, the only one with any ammo left, and made for the opposite direction of the forest. The Hunter was still going after the larger group, though that would soon change._

"_Eat this asshole," I muttered to myself as I lined up a shot for its mouth. We had received minimal intelligence from a Delta Force group that had fought this things already, and they said to aim for the mouth of anything we saw. Looking through the sniper scope, I saw that the Hunter was missing some sections of the armor that was around its mouth. Moving the crosshairs slightly to effect maximum damage I fired one bolt from the Gauss. Traveling at 10,000 meters per second, it crossed the distance in a hurry and got its attention._

_As soon as I saw my own handy work, I slung the rifle across my back and ran like an Olympian to buy time until the Gauss could cool down. That's when I felt the signature 'freeze-ray' on my back._

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Med Bay**

**In Orbit Over Edolus**

"What's wrong with him Doc?" Shepard asked.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, from the ground team was crowded into the med bay and surrounding the bed Mitchell was on. He hadn't moved since we got him inside the Mako, but would murmur something unintelligible once in awhile like he was dreaming.

"Besides breaking his hand almost completely, he's suffering from severe exhaustion, electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, and even some signs of malnutrition. Whatever he did, he pushed his body past what it should have been able to do, even with the Nanosuit's help." The Doctor explained.

"Yeah... Lifting a Mako would probably do that to a guy..." I muttered, partially blaming myself. _If I hadn't stopped us to question rescuing the test subjects, this may not have happened._

"The good news is that it seems the Nanosuit is attempting to fix what's wrong with him, but I recommend we get at least get an IV started so we can address the loss of fluid and electrolyte imbalance."

"Do it... Ryan's too stubborn to let something like a little fatigue to slow him down..." John commented as he turned to us. "I want everyone out of here, Ryan will be fine. Liara you can stay if you want. Kaira, let's make a call to the Akina and see how they are doing."

Everyone turned and walked out the door, except John, Kaira, Liara and myself.

"Jackson, why don't you go down to engineering with Rana?" Kaira asked, but made it sound more like a suggestion.

"Well... I just wanted to apologize to you Shepard... If I hadn't delayed us by questioning about the Contractor's test subjects, Mitchell probably wouldn't be in this situation." I delivered without looking into his eyes.

John came up to me, and where I expected a full dressing down seeing as he was military, a hand on the shoulder caught me by surprise. "It's ok Jackson... What's done is done... I wish there had been another way, too. But Ryan won't blame you because what he did is simply who he is. Chances are that he would have done that no matter what the situation was."

I looked up into Shepard's eyes and saw sincerity in what he said. "Thanks Shepard..."

"Now, let's go see where your ship is at!" He proclaimed as he squeezed my shoulder and led me and Kaira out of the med bay, leaving Liara behind with Mitchell and Chakwas.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

**1 Hour Later**

_**/User Status... Unconscious... /**_

_**/User Physical Status... /**_

_**/Left Hand: All**__**Metacarpals, Proximal, Middle, and Distal Phalanges Broken... /**_

_**/Left Wrist: Broken Lunate, Triquetral, Pisiform, Hamate, Capitate, Trapezoid, Trapeziem, and Scaphoid disjoined... /**_

_**/Left Forearm: No damage... /**_

_**/Increasing Nanocell production... /**_

_**/Administering local anesthetic... /**_

_**/Initiating Nanocell bonding procedure.../**_

_**/Nanocell bonding complete... All physical trauma repaired/**_

_**/User Bio-chemical status: Re-regulated... Within established nominal levels.../**_

_**/Suit Status... Main capacitors undercharged... Rerouting to emergency capacitors... Emergency capacitors online... Diverting emergency capacitor energy to main capacitors.../**_

_**/Diverting complete... Energy levels within accepted ranges/**_

_**/Initiating Manual User Reactivation.../**_

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Ungh..." I groaned as I regained awareness. My muscles hurt like I had I just swam four miles with a full load out. As I opened my eyes, I could see the Nanosuit's HUD still fractions of an inch from my eyes. It indicated that the right arm segment had been removed, and that was when I noticed the IV needle stuck into me.

"Doc?" I asked weakly, my throat being dry as well, "Doc!"

"Mitchell! What are you doing up? You should still be sedated!" She hustled over to my table from her desk which was out of my line of sight. "Liara, he's awake!" She nudged a sleeping shape on the another bed. Liara's blue fringed head popped up from the pillow and looked to me.

"Hey," I said as soon as I saw her brilliant blue eyes connect with mine, even with the visor in the way.

"You know Mitchell, one of these day's you're going to find yourself in a situation where your suit won't be able to save you." Chakwas intoned, likely trying to get a point across as I sat myself up.

"No offense Doc, but you know me enough by now that when that day comes I'll face it like I always do..." I replied, waving her off with my left hand. Which felt surprisingly good, a little numb but I could move it again. Liara had made her way over to me again, and I wrapped my arm around her waist

"Astonishing... You left hand was more or less completely shattered..." Chakwas spoke in awe. "Now you're able to move it freely..."

"It feels a little numb Doc, but I'll be ok. Now can I please get out of here?" I asked impatiently, which earned me a glare from Chakwas, to which Liara laughed and left saying she was going to get my clothes so I could change.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

20 minutes and several scans later of my left hand, and Chakwas finally let me go, her research on the nanocell's medical functions getting more data that needed analyzing. Liara went back to her 'office' to continue examining some Prothean data discs. I on the other hand immediately went to the CIC to find John and Kaira getting out of a meeting with the Council.

"So..." I said as the orange holograms of my three favorite people in the galaxy disappeared, "What did I miss?"

Kaira raised an eye brow marking, "You mean besides the Councilors questioning our judgment on blowing up an entire mountain range to take out one mercenary group? Not much."

I laughed, "Why am I not surprised..."

"I'm sure if the Asari Councilor was the same as the one from when the original Contractor was around, then maybe she would have been a bit more understanding, but this one was more concerned about the environmental effects." She replied.

"Well, isn't this the exact reason why they made the Spectre's?" I asked, "To be able to take action without having to ask when necessary?"

"To a point, but this Contractor took a different approach to his dealings than the last one and stayed in the shadows where no one would spot him before it was too late. So naturally the Council doubted the time and resources we used were completely necessary to take him down." She answered.

"I for one am glad we don't have a lunatic running around with delusions of creating a super army using a mutagenic serum." I deadpanned, causing both John and Kaira to laugh.

"Commander," Joker's voice came over the PA, "We just got a priority message from Alliance Command. It's a pre-recorded audio file."

"Play out Joker," John ordered.

"_Commander's Shepard and Mitchell, this is Admiral Kahoku. I found out who set that trap for my men. The ones killed by the Thresher Maw..._

_Damn... I hope you get this message..._

_It was a group called Cerberus. An Alliance black ops organization. Top secret, highest-level security clearance. They vanished a few months ago. Dropped right off the grip. Nobody knew where they went or what they were up to._

_They've gone completely rogue, Commanders! They're conducting illegal genetic experiments trying to create some kind of super soldier. I don't have any proof, but I found the coordinates for one of their research worlds. I'm uploading them with this message._

_They're completely out of control. Somebody needs to stop them. I've done my part. Now it's up to you._

_This is... this is probably the last you'll hear from me. Cerberus is after me now. I need to disappear before they find me."_

"I got the coordinates locked in Shepard. It's a planet called Binthu in the Yangtze system of the Voyager Cluster. If we leave right now our ETA is 5 hours." Joker reported.

"Have we gotten a message back from the Akina?" Kaira asked.

"Yes, they are on their way to the Hades Gamma Relay we'll rendezvous with them there since we have to pass through Hades Gamma again. ETA is two hours." Joker replied.

"Alright sounds good Joker, get us there in one piece." John said.

"John, if you don't mind, I'd like to discuss some things with you in private again." Kaira asked, John just nodded. I took that as my queue to leave. As I exited the Comm Room, I decided to head on down to the Cargo Bay.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Alright Kaira, what is it that you wanted to discuss?" John asked as soon as the Comm Room door sealed back up, pulling out and activating his scrambler unit.

"It's about the Cerberus group... From the sounds of it, you may need some extra help..." Kaira offered.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm not sure how the brass would feel about an Asari Commando squad 'investigating' a rouge Alliance black-ops group, even with Spectre authorization..."

"So we don't include that on the report... Easy enough..." Kaira shrugged.

"Spectre T'Suni... I didn't have you pegged to do any such questionable activities," John teased with a smirk.

"How do you think I get away with some of the stuff my squad has done over the years?"

"Good point..."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Delina, after having a helluva a day, decided to use the spare room that Shepard had offered her and the rest of the 517th. Having taken a decent shower, she got out of her armor and back into her 'casual' clothes to take a short nap. Thinking back on the day's events, she realized something...

Heading out of the spare room and into the med-bay, she found Liara working in the back room.

"Hey, Liara right?" She called out, causing her fellow Asari to jump slightly in her seat.

"Yes?" Liara answered timidly.

"Just wanted to ask you something... Nothing serious, but I need to settle something with Jackson."

"Of course."

"Alright... It's pretty obvious to everyone that you and Mitchell are together," Delina started, "I was curious if that cannon he carries around is his way of compensating."

Liara gave her a confused stare. "What do you mean by compensating?"

"Oh come on! How big he is?" Liara still looked confused, "Um... What's he's packing in his pants?"

Liara's faced suddenly flushed to a deep shade of purple, "Oh Goddess! We have not... Uh I mean I've seen but we've never- Goddess..."

Delina laughed, "Yeah. Ok, T'Soni, so is he compensating or not?

Liara's gaze darted around the room, as if to look for an answer somewhere in the room. "He uh... He does not need to compensate, as you say, for anything." Delina looked on in disbelief... Before transferring some credits from her account to Jackson's on her omni-tool. "I have heard from several of the female Normandy crew that he is 'built like a Greek god', if you need reference..." Liara offered.

"No. I just had wager. And I'm pretty sure I just got scammed." Delina replied with a scowl.

"Well if you would excuse me," Liara said as she stood up, "I got word that Ryan and Forrest are sparring down in the cargo hold. Apparently Forrest wanted to know about Ryan's training and is 'getting a hands on demonstration'."

Delina stood there as Liara passed her, "Aw hell, I'll go just to see how bad Forrest get's his ass kicked!" and turned around to follow Liara to the elevator.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_Considering Jackson is trained in Asari Commando martial arts, he's not too bad..._ Jackson went for a leg sweep which I jumped over taking the height advantage and pseudo tackled him getting him into a head lock. Normally he'd be able to use his biotics to help himself out, but for the sake of training he said he wouldn't. After he tapped on the mat we set up, I let him go and went back to my end of the mat.

"Not bad, but while Asari Commando's focus on moving swiftly and with less effort, you have to be ready to simply go for the take down or the kill." I advised him. "I'm going to come at you, and defend yourself in whatever way necessary."

Jackson just got back up, while I was going easy by my standards, we had been going for some time now. Not giving him a chance to fully collect himself, I began to lightly jog towards him, making it look like I was winding up a typical sweeping punch.

Jackson got himself into a defensive stance and prepared to deliver a side jab most likely by stepping around me. I on the other hand jumped up and shocked him with a jumping roundhouse. He managed to block it, but I used my other leg to wrap around his head, and using the rest of my momentum, spun around and brought him down to the mat again.

"You can't anticipate in a fight, you react. Your regular dumbass merc's sure you can guess what their next moves are gonna be because their body language tells you. When you go up against a guy with experience, you have to react to his movements and wait for an opening." I explained as I let him up.

"DAMN Jackson! You got your ass kicked!" I heard Delina's tell tale voice come from over by the elevator.

"Give him some credit Delina," I replied wiping some sweat off my forehead, "He's going against a guy with more combat experience than him that uses a completely different style than he was taught. That's before we get in to the physical differences."

"Thanks Mitchell but I can defend myself from Delina." Jackson grumbled as he got up. "You know Delina, you may learn a thing or two from Mitchell."

"Pfft... On what? How to wreak havoc everywhere I go? That's your job." She snorted as she went back to the elevator.

"_Attention, prepare for ship to ship docking procedures...Attention, prepare for ship to ship docking procedures... Ground team to Comm Room." _The Normandy's VI reported.

Ignoring the glare that Jackson and Delina exchanged, I simply proposed. "Well, looks like your ride is here. Jackson, keep working on your CQC… and maybe try to include some Alliance styles."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

About 15 minutes later and we had Tali back on board the Normandy going over the details of the improvements she made to the Akina's systems. Namely improving the eezo core, giving the ship a bit of a speed boost. After a brief round of questioning from Rana and Kaira, everyone was congratulating Tali on her work. In the crowded space of the Comm Room, we were basically all just standing in a circle. John, Kaira, and I had our backs to the holo-projectors, while the 517th was on our right and the Normandy crew on our left.

"Now, while the Normandy is enroute to another mission," John started, "Kaira and I have been discussing some things."

"For those of you who weren't here, Admiral Kahoku found out who planted that trap for his men on Edolus; An Alliance black ops group calling themselves Cerberus. He managed to get us a planet but nothing more." Kaira continued, "As such the Akina will accompany the Normandy to Binthu to help scan the planet and help clean up any bases we come across."

No one objected to the plan, and after being dismissed went back to their usual spots while the 517th went over to the Akina. _Well... Time for some more ass kicking..._

* * *

**Unknown Space Station**

**Unknown Location**

As Jack Harper was sitting in his chair reviewing the status of one of his projects, which was displayed on one of the many holoprojectors situated throughout the office, a small ping sounded alerting him to a priority message. After pulling up the appropriate information on a display that wasn't being used he sighed, causing his shoulders to slump ever so slightly. After regaining his composure, he quickly sent back a reply telling Agent Dostya to not do anything besides gather intel.

Once that message was away, he activated his audio communication terminal. The terminal would bounce the transmission between several comm buoys between his station and his intended callers location to maintain the secrecy of his own location.

"_DeltaTech HQ, how may I direct your call?"_ The VI answered.

"Priority message for Jacob Grabovich." Jack Harper answered and prepared himself for the coming conversation.

"Wow Illusive Man, I'm surprised to hear from you already. My man just reported to me that he delivered the supplies to your... specialists let's call them."

"There has been a change in plans... It would seem that even though I found and plugged a leak in my organization, enough managed to get to the Shadow Broker's hands and into Admiral Kahoku's. He in turn then gave the information to Shepard and Mitchell."

"So basically, you need me to get the heavy equipment to your other site now..." Jacob Hargreave answered, finishing what the Illusive Man was going to say.

"Correct, I have my people routing their data back to me, so any physical damage that may be incurred by the two Commander's will be negligible in the long run. While my people will isolate and capture Mitchell, yours better be ready for what has to be done."

"They are, but I want to know now Illusive Man, are you just using the situation so you can bring me and my company into your little group?"

"Of course not... Once we both have made full use of the Nanosuit and Mitchell, we'll part ways."

"You do know that Mitchell won't take any testing quietly..." Hargreave stated.

"He won't have a choice in the matter..."

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Airlock/Cockpit,**

**After 517****th**** boards AMF Akina**

**July 28****th****, 2183**

With the two ships separated, we each began our three hour trip to Binthu. As I walked back towards the stairs in the CIC, John jogged up to me from talking with Joker.

"Hey Ryan… Think we could talk?" He asked, concern written all over his face.

"Yeah sure."

"Let's go to the Comm Room." He replied as he led the way.

Once we got inside he immediately took a seat and motioned for me to sit next to him. "So… How are you doing?" That got me to raise an eyebrow, " I mean about the whole Aldman/Hargreave thing…"

"Oh…" My mind went blank as I leaned back in the seat as it tried to go through all the emotions I was dealing with. "Honestly, it's a little bit of everything… I'm remembering more and more about my past, but to have something like that be dropped on my plate is totally unexpected. I want to know who exactly thinks I'm valuable enough to plant a deep cover agent aboard the Normandy.

I get the fact that the Nanosuit is perhaps the biggest technological breakthrough in two different centuries, but I had enough of being a chess piece back in the 21st. Anyone who thinks they can simply take me and suit to do whatever they want has another thing coming."

John was quiet for a bit before he spoke back up. "Well, glad to see that your mental well being hasn't gone too far south." He chuckled.

"Oh no don't get me wrong John…" I said darkly, "Once I find out why Jacob Hargreave made the nanosuits, and whoever it is that's trying to 'capture' me, the galaxy is going to be a little emptier. I absolutely _will not_ allow my past to rule my future. If that means I have to go into hiding so that no one can get their hands on the nanosuit, or if I have to kill anyone who even hints at using the nanosuit's technology for less than ethical reasons I'll do it."

"Damn Ryan…" John muttered. "Well, if it helps you know you have my support." He offered.

"Thanks John… I appreciate it… Although know that if you screw things up between my great-great-granddaughter you'll find yourself in a hell you've never heard of." I reply with a stone cold face.

The color from John's face faded at my tone, "Uh… How…"

I gave him a long stare before cracking a smile, "It's pretty obvious that you and Ash like each other John." The color in his face returned tenfold as he blushed. "Don't worry about regs either at this point. You're a Spectre now, and I'm pretty sure that gives you some leeway when it comes to relationships."

"T-thanks Ryan…" John stuttered before regaining his composure. "Now, about this Cerberus group… Don't you find it a little odd that both this group, the Contractor, and Hargreave all worked towards making super soldiers?"

"Well, Hargreave had the reasoning of the Ceph and all he did really was to augment a human's body with cybernetics, the Contractor wanted to use a virus to cause excessive mutations which would increase a person's ability to fight, and we don't know what Cerberus is trying to do but yeah I agree this is getting a little old."

"Not to mention the fact that Aldman, or whoever he may be, managed to get on board the ship, probably collect data on the suit, and attempted to sabotage it. All when we began this investigation." John added. "Also… Jackson seems think that we may have another mole on board… Remember that blonde crewmember from earlier when you were heading down stairs?" I nodded, "He thinks it's her, based on how she was flirting with him. From the way he described it, it sounded like a method a female spy is trained in to get information."

"Great…" I groaned. "I hate goddamned spooks…"

"I think we may have to face the possibility that Cerberus and Hargreave are working together to get the nanosuit."

"If that's the case, I revert back to my previous statement…" I said defiantly as I stood up and made to leave the Comm Room, "I'm heading down to talk with Liara."

* * *

**En route to Binthu**

**A****MF Akina**

**517****th****Commando squad**

**Forrest Jackson POV **

"Well… That's another chapter closed…" I offered, leaning forward on the table of the mess hall. Recovering from the last mission and preparing for the next… Just like old times. It wasn't even funny how quickly life returned to normal… with a few quirks.

"And another one opening." Kaira finished as she clasped her hands together. "We might have taken the Contractor down for a second time, but there's still this Cerberus group to deal with."

"Yeah. From the sounds of it, we've just got a small lead… but that's all we had to take the contractor down."

"True enough. You should be pretty proud… your species has made the Spectres."

"No doubt. And in force."

"They seem like solid choices, too. I spoke with Shepard about their mission, and he seems focused on the tasks at hand. He also went into a little bit of Mitchell's back-story… Not too dissimilar from you."

"Really? How so?" I asked, tilting my head to one side curiously. I left the little meeting Shepard had with the rest of the squad to go talk to Mitchell, so I didn't get to hear his story.

"He was originally from 21st century earth. Sounds like there were some serious problems about 2023. Some race of alien attacked one of the principle cities… what was the name – New York?" I nodded and she continued to explain. "Ceph, he called them. Apparently they were there on earth to begin with… but things got bloody. From what we can patch together, Spectre Mitchell was one of the ones tasked with fighting back the invasion."

"Damn… and I missed all of this."

"We all did. Mitchell is the only remainder of a war… and technology." She hesitated. "At least, the only one we've uncovered thus far."

"Yeah. Nothing is ever that simple… for better or worse."

The red markings over her eye rose. "I don't think simplicity is a bad thing at times. Not when they already have a rogue Spectre and Cerberus to deal with."

"No. But at least the Contractor is down for the count. That helps."

"It does. But not enough. We're still getting leads on the T'Navara case. A few more remote outposts, but nothing concrete."

"Damn. So we're still wasting our time there."

"Not entirely. We are closing in. And more leads are springing up."

"I don't get it, though… why would someone create a drug that causes wide-spread tissue scarring?"

"It's just one bad batch away from being what the Contractor created. And in the meantime, it feeds addictions."

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Well, there isn't much more we can do no. We need to prepare for the assault. I'm going to go make sure everything is running normal… make sure you're ready to make the jump."

"Yes ma'am". I nodded as we both stood up and headed towards the elevator. A short trip down a level, and I hopped off on the equipment deck… and she headed back towards the combat deck. And there was no time like the present to hassle Delina in the armory.

Instead of working, she was standing back from a table, hand raised to chin in a rare thoughtful stance. So I quipped "Hey – are you working hard or hardly working?"

"What the hell do you think?" She responded, arm dropping as she looked over her shoulder towards me.

"I was just curious." With a shrug, I tried again. "So what are you working on?"

"I'm trying to make sense of that Athena rifle that one Spectre carries. I still haven't figured out how they get a bolt to fire like that with minimal recoil… but it runs circles around even the rifle I have now."

"So you're jealous?" I prodded, looking for a reaction. "Besides, it has limited ammo."

"Your point? Besides, I make every shot count."

She… did have a point. I hadn't ever seen her miss with a sniper… Ever. Back in the day or now. "Well, besides taking out tanks and stuff, name something you can't take down in a single shot with your Recluse."

A moment of silence. "Krogan. Bastards take two good shots."

"Alright, fine. So that's two things."

"Yeah. Guess I'll just have to rely on being a better shot." She shook her head… a century and a half hadn't changed her much.

"Right…" I started skeptically, unsure of what to say to that.

"Hmph. I hate this." She started, looking over the table covered with various weapons. "You have a penchant for picking up odd weapons and modding them beyond recognition, don't you?"

"Sure, why not? Besides, you do the same."

"That's my prerogative. I don't ask you to keep this shit tuned in."

"Hey, I just have the Spectre rifle and the Scimitar. That's less than I used to have!" I defended, waving towards the rifle she picked up and inspected again. "Besides, you know you missed me!"

"Haha, that's funny." She sneered for a moment and then, losing the sarcastic tone, added "And true."

"Thought so." With a chuckle, I continued. "So, what do you think of the last mission?"

"Taking the Contractor and his army down again? Hell yes. About time."

"No doubt. Were you able to get anything useful from the base as far as tech goes?"

"No. There were a few prototype heatsinks, but they're too flawed to be used yet. Most of their gear was basic shit." She shrugged. "That reminds me. You have a penchant for blowing things up."

"Your point?" I asked.

"Just that you haven't changed."

"Why would I have? I've been out for all these years."

"Yeah. I know. It's still weird to think about. But did you really have to bring the Contractor back with you?"

"No. He came back first." I countered, trying not start laughing.

"Whatever. All I know is that operation was FUBAR."

"Nice use of human terms there."

"Shut up!"

"Alright, alright… I get it... I make a valid point and you make me leave."

"There's a difference between valid point and attempt to annoy… We both know what you were trying for."

"Alright… fine. I'll let you get back to work…or whatever…"

"Yeah. We have an operation to storm. Time for some payback..."

"Sounds good. I'll talk later. Oh, and thanks for the creds!" And with that, I made my way out of the Armory – still unharmed. One more stop before I could get my own gear ready for the assault: Engineering. Just across the deck, on the port side of the frigate. True to norm, our resident Asari engineer was hard at work at the usual terminal; so focused that she did not look away from the screen.

"Hey Rana." I finally began, causing the commando to jump.

"Goddess... must you always sneak up on me like that?"

"Sorry. I know you're busy and all… I just wanted to check in before the next assault."

"My apologies as well. I…am not used to your presence again." Quickly raising a hand, she added "Although I am not complaining; it is certainly welcome… even if a bit awkward."

"Well, thanks. I know things have changed… I'm just glad we're all surviving. What are you working on?"

"I was examining the data Mitchell gave me regarding the nanocells…" Rana gestured to the data pad next her terminal. "...and researching any equivalents of such technology. So far I have come across nothing that even closely compares."

"Any idea how long it will take to reverse-engineer?"

"I… No. There is no way of telling at this point. For a technology that lived and died a century ago, it is still far more advanced than we could imagine. It is remarkable… but also frustrating to try and make sense of."

"Sure. Come across anything useful yet?"

"There are countless applications of these cells… However, until we are able to understand them completely they are extremely limited." She shook her head. "The suit is equally fascinating. From tactical camouflage to increased strength, it is extremely nimble and dangerous while in practiced hands. The only thing that concerns me is the lack of shielding."

"Armor does the trick, though doesn't it?" I questioned, wondering if there was a physics lesson to be learned.

"That is partially true. While such adaptive armor serves its purpose of stopping projectiles, the raw force is carried directly into the wearer. Kinetic barriers displace the energy carried by any projectile without transferring direct energy. It may be possible to incorporate shields when we have a better understanding of those technologies… But not yet." She paused, furrowing her brow momentarily as she looked over the terminal. "Although the two of you certainly caused an excessive amount of destruction."

"Well… sometimes that's what it takes. We'll probably need it for the upcoming attack on Cerberus."

"I believe you may be right." The younger commando intoned. "I do not like the sounds of that group, however. I wonder if we are not wading into a trap similar to those Alliance Marines on Edolus."

"Maybe. But look our squad – and Shepard and Mitchell's team. It'll take something big to rip us all apart."

"Perhaps. I hope you are correct." She shook her head and looked to the floor. "But do you not recall what happened before? We _were_ ripped apart. I… I spent nearly two centuries believing you were gone. And now the same threatens to happen again…"

She trailed off. So time had hardly healed all the wounds…and I was still confused to where we stood. For a moment I clenched my jaw just to keep my composure, then spoke quietly: "Yeah. I know we can't dwell on the past… but…"

"We must learn from it, but not obsess over it. For now, we must focus on the present."

I nodded slowly, trying to push aside what she had told me before…about her and the Turian. Kaviron. "I guess that means finding this Cerberus group."

"I agree. We will find them… and do whatever is necessary to stop them."

I nodded, a bit taken aback by the engineer's hardened edge… Centuries would do that, though. And she was right: Someone down there needed to get their ass kicked. Between the two human Spectres, their crew, and now our own 517th, there was many a foot waiting for that opportunity.

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Liara's Office/Med Bay Storage Room2**

As I made my way from the Comm Room down to Liara, I passed by Chakwas who seemed to be getting frustrated with her research into the Nanocells. I couldn't exactly blame her, she was a medical doctor, not a doctor of biomedical engineering. From the brief bit she told me, she was introducing the cells to other types of tissue, some human and some alien. Whenever they came into contact with alien tissue though, they seemed to attack it, mutate it, and make the tissue attack itself. It did the opposite in human tissue though, the cells bonded with the tissue briefly then went on repairing any damage they could find. She did make some headway into how I was able to heal so rapidly. The way she explained it, the cells rather than try to repair a severely damaged portion, simply fused themselves to the existing tissue; apparently that was how my hand had healed so quickly.

After thinking things through, I had to ask the Doctor what the specific results were with Asari tissue. She replied that it was split right down the middle. Asari and humans apparently share some of the same genetic sequences (hence why Asari have roughly the same anatomical structure of human women), so the cells seemed confused about the tissue, some repairing it others attacking it. That was when the situation became awkward, and Chakwas assured me that any relationship I might have wouldn't be endangering the other. With my face thoroughly flushed, I thanked her and made for Liara's office.

When the door opened, Liara was in her work uniform leaning over a machine that was scanning a Prothean Data disc. She was also manipulating another device connected to the scanner. Apparently accessing the data from a 50,000 year old device is pretty tough.

"Hey..." I whispered quietly as I walked up behind her and held her by her waist causing her to jump a little. "Sorry if I scared you..." I rested my head on her shoulder next to hers.

"You did not..." She said as I could feel her smiling, "Just startled me..."

"I'd say... You were concentrating pretty hard on that data disc..."

"I do tend to get caught up in my research... This artifact is one of only a few undamaged data discs ever found... It's unique... To think that it's the last trace of a civilization..." She turned around so we could talk face to face and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Sort of like you..." She murmured as she leaned her forehead forward and rested it on my chest.

I stood there, simply enjoying having her in my arms as I thought her statement over… It was true, humans now, while similar, were much different than the humans I'm used to. The core of humanity was the same, there were still ass holes and saints wherever you look, but they differed in that they now have the galactic stage to worry about. Hell, even racism between humans still exists, albeit a very small minority, the focus shifted over to non-humans; Terra Firma being their main political voice. There is also the fact that my suit is beyond anything possible now, but that's another matter entirely.

"How are you doing? Really?" She asked a moment later as she looked up at me.

"I don't know Liara..." Even though I told John how I felt about the whole thing, he only got one end of the spectrum and I didn't want to expose Liara to that side of me. "One minute I barely had a grasp of things the next I'm not so sure. There is only one way for Aldman, or whoever he was, to burst into flames like that... Tech based on and from the nanosuit... Yet Hackett said that everything having to deal with CryNet was long since buried. If the files he gave me are correct, Jacob Hargreave died back in 2023, and he had no known family. If someone is after the suit, and by association myself, it would have to be someone with intimate knowledge of how I got here."

Liara stayed quiet for a while, as if waiting for me to continue. When I didn't she began, "Why would anyone here and now be interested in that part of your history?"

"I don't know Liara, I'm missing some important information here... Whatever is at stake here goes beyond just me. Hargreave designed the suits for something, like he had a grand plan. He lived for over a century, nobody now could possibly know what that plan was. There is always the possibility that someone simply wants the technology behind the suit for themselves." I let go of Liara, and walked over to her chair to sit down gesturing to her to sit on my lap.

"... Does anyone know what he based his advancements off of?" She asked as she sat down in my lap, at which I raised an eyebrow. "Dr. Chakwas was working on researching the nanocells, and I was little curious so I took a closer look. The technology is unlike anything I've ever seen before, the Prothean's had nothing like it and I highly doubt that early Earth 21st century tech would have been able to actually manufacture it... It's also highly unlikely that today's greatest minds would not comprehend it at least for several years..."

My head slumped a bit, "I don't know... Even the Omni-plant has been having trouble getting a solid understanding behind how it was constructed. It has its structure and core materials down but it's like there is something missing."

Liara brought her hand underneath my chin and raised my head up. "Let's not talk about this subject anymore. I want to relax until we have to go off fighting again."

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

Liara's eyes beamed as she gazed into my own. "I have found a vid you may enjoy."

* * *

**In Orbit Over Binthu, Yangzte, Voyager Cluster**

**Normandy SR-1**

**CIC**

**5 hours later**

"Pressly, have you and the Akina's navigator found anything yet?" John asked, sounding a little anxious. The two of us were in our armor, all armed up ready to go, and instead of going groundside to kick some serious ass we were waiting on Pressly to find us something. While we did we were up front by Joker.

We had arrived in orbit over the planet that Kahoku told us about, Binthu, about 2 hours ago. When we did, we had beaten the Akina by about a minute and Joker had to dive the Normandy out of the Akina's way to avoid a collision. After getting everything situated, Pressly and the Akina's navigator began using both ships sensor suites to do a detailed scan of the planet's surface to look for any signs of a base.

"We've found a trio of heat signatures that don't match up with the rest of the planet's surface commander. We figure the bases must be underground for concealment. One of the signatures though is significantly larger and is right at the edge of a cliff." Pressly reported from his station by the galaxy map.

"_Shepard and Mitchell, this is T'Suni. We'll take the southwestern base, you can then take the eastern one and we'll meet up for the last one in the north __."_ Kaira's voice came over the comm channel.

"Makes sense, each team should be able to handle the smaller bases." I commented. "Pressly, can you bring up a bird's eye view picture of that larger base?"

"One moment Commander... There you go." He sent the picture to the co-pilots seat next to Joker and I sat down to take a look. Overlaying the thermal imaging with the bird's eye view, I knew something was off.

"What's up Ryan?" John asked after a moment.

I enlarged a section of the picture, "See that there? That earth there has been moved recently." I pointed to an area about fifty meters further north of the thermal signature. " I can't believe I'm going to say this, but back in the day, seeing that kind of change in the dirt was sign that an underground hangar, garage, or missile silo was there. My bet is that the bigger base is the main one where they receive supplies at."

"Mitchell is right Shepard," Joker added, "I've cross referenced the size of that area and a small cargo shuttle could fit in that spot and have room to maneuver." John and I both turned our heads to fix Joker with shocked glares. "What? I do more than just sit up here and watch buttons flash you know... Granted that's 99% of the job but who's watching?"

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Rather than pack us all in the Mako, John and I chose to bring Garrus and Wrex along for a quick and heavy hitter group. Liara and Ash both wanted in, but I convinced Liara that I wanted her on the Normandy in case any thing went wrong. Secretly though I didn't want her to see anything gruesome that might be down there. I'm not sure how John convinced Ash to stay, but I can guess it was something along the lines of 'you're my backup'.

Before I knew it, the Mako had landed on Trebin's surface and John was gunning the Mako's accelerator like there was no tomorrow. Garrus was in the gunners' seat while I took navigation.

"John, take a right through that pass and we'll come out above the thermal signature..." John didn't change direction and kept heading straight for a 40 meter drop off cliff.

"John... Take a right..." He pressed the accelerator down even further, causing the Mako to lurch back with the acceleration as we neared the edge of the drop off.

"JOHN!"

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Hey Jackson," Delina called out as the Akina dropped us off about half a click away from our objective in a valley.

"What's up Delina?" I asked as we all got ready to start making the trek through the valley.

"You remember that hover bike you got on Omega?"

I had to dig around for the memory for a bit, but after finding it I nodded my response.

"Well, I may have forgotten to tell you something when you got back on board." Delina walked over to four huge crates that were in the Akina's cargo area and keyed in a command to open one of them.

When it opened, it revealed a hover bike that resembled a chopper motorcycle… The engine was huge, but that was only the beginning from what I could tell as I walked up to it to get a better look

"Delina and I have been building a better version for the past century ." Rana spoke up, joining the conversation. "When we... lost you, your bike remained. So to honor your memory we built these. They have bigger drive cores, allowing for the bikes own personal shield along with a compliment of unguided missiles and a small mass accelerator cannon. There is room for more weapons storage as well."

I let out a long whistle, "Damn… This is what I'm talking about. You sure these are at all like the original, though? That one didn't even have shields…"

"Alright team, let's get going. We've got a base to raid." Kaira ordered as she opened up another crate to get her own bike out.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

The Mako finally stopped bouncing around long enough for me to get an accurate read on where the thermal signature was. Fortunately, it seemed like John's skydiving with the Mako didn't alert any one nor did it over shoot us from the base. We were currently sitting on an overlook that the pass I had mentioned earlier would have brought us, and from what I could tell, there was a small concrete structure above ground that was covered with dirt to make it blend in for aerial photography. Next to the structure were two smaller ones, but those weren't producing any heat, not enough for the Mako's own thermal scanner to pick up any way.

"What do we have Ryan?" John asked.

"Three concrete structures designed to blend in for aerial or satellite photography, the bigger one in the middle is what I'm assuming to be the entrance since that's where the heat is coming from. No idea what could be in those other structures." I reported.

"Could be some defense turrets, they would only power those up until absolutely necessary." Garrus offered. "The Mako's cannon won't be able to punch through that concrete and take out any defense cannons that may be in there."

"Why don't we just drive up and the blow the hell out of whatever it is they have there?" Wrex groaned, obviously tired of waiting.

"I agree with Wrex, John. Chances are that whatever they have for defense turrets won't be equipped to handle a fast moving Mako." I added.

"You're forgetting that no one can predict Shepard's driving Mitchell!" Garrus quipped, causing Wrex and I to burst out laughing.

"Laugh it up you guys, laugh it up..." Was John's only retort before he throttled the Mako, sending us directly over the overlook's edge and sailing through the air yet again.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"What do you have Rana?" Kaira asked, the four of us had stopped about a hundred meters from the target to get a read on the situation. Even without using Rana's Omni-tool sensor package I could tell that this Cerberus group was ready for an assault. They had posted a couple guards with rocket launchers, along with deploying their defense turrets. Rana was currently scanning the area for any other signs of hidden defenders.

"Nothing else Commander, I did pick up some radio chatter that indicated that Shepard and Mitchell managed to successfully infiltrate their target building. Other than that, it would seem that they weren't counting on any kind of assault."

"How do you want to approach this Commander?" I asked, hoping I would get the chance to test out the bike.

"Delina, you'll stay here and when we give the signal, I want you to snipe the guards while the three of us use the bikes to take out the defenses. It's time we see what they can do in combat." While Delina set herself up to take the shots, Kaira, Rana and I made our way back to the bikes. "Rana, Forrest you two will be 10 meters apart on either side of me as we approach. When you get a shot, each of you take down a turret. I'll draw their fire and offer help where needed."

"Roger."

"Yes, ma'am."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

After taking out the defense turrets, which were extremely old but heavily armored rocket turrets, John, Garrus, Wrex and myself managed to get into the main structure. When we entered, I noticed right away that it was eerily similar to the bases on Luna. _Makes sense though, this group used to be an Alliance black-ops group..._

"Commanders, I'm detecting numerous life signs beyond this door," Garrus reported after doing a quick sweep with his omni-tool.

"Any networks you can hack into Garrus?" John asked.

"I've been trying but I've got nothing so far..."

"Shepard," Wrex's voice boomed from over in a corner. "Think this might hurt them a little?" He kicked over a crate of supplies and exposed a power conduit.

"That might not be a good idea," I offered, "We don't know what it is exactly they have in the other room."

"Each minute we waste gives them more time to prepare any defenses" Wrex countered.

John thought about it for a minute, before grabbing a set of goggles from a side pack and throwing them on. "Do it on my mark Wrex, I'm assuming you, Ryan and Garrus won't have problems seeing in the dark..."

"I'll be good, my visor has a night vision function." Garrus replied

"I don't need anything to help my see through a little darkness..." Wrex grunted

I quickly thought about a night vision setting, and instead of the normal green hue of night vision goggles, my eyes were assaulted by the harsh colors of a thermal scanner. "Whoa!... Now I know what it's like to be a Predator..."

"Huh?" was the collective reply from John, Garrus, and Wrex.

"Seriously?" I asked incredulously, face palming in the process, "I know I'm old but COME ON! When we get back to the Normandy we are SO having a movie night!"

"That actually sounds like a good idea... But right now, Wrex, go ahead and blow that conduit." John ordered. Wrex gave the equivalent of a Krogan grin before he pulled out his shotgun and blew the conduit to pieces.

Instantly, the room we were in went dark with only a few emergency lights coming online. In the next room however, a very distinctive moan came through the door followed by numerous screams and guns going off.

"This will be fun..." I commented dryly...

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

What most would have considered a suicide charge turned out quite well for us. As Kaira, Rana and I got close enough to get the rocket launcher goons attentions, Kaira gave the order for Delina to fire. As per usual she got two head shots with two shots, leaving us to deal with the turrets.

Thankfully Rana gave the bike a HUD feed into my helmet so I could see where the cannon and rockets would hopefully hit, so as soon as the targeting reticule went over my turret, I pressed a red button on the right handle thinking it was for the cannon. Instead I ended up getting a speed boost and had to swerve to avoid ramming into the turret. After making a correcting turn, I lined my sights back up on the turret, which was struggling to follow the bikes quick movements. This time I pressed the blue button on the left handle and was rewarded with the distinct sound of a rockets motor firing off. I double tapped the button to add two more rockets, and took my bike into a power slide to watch the rockets go.

The first one impacted with very little effects upon the turret, but the second and third must have hit a weak point as several secondary explosions went off as well. I looked to the opposite turret and found it in shambles as well. In the distance I could see Delina on her bike coming in and Rana and Kaira were already getting off their bikes by the entrance.

As I pulled up to Rana and Kaira, Rana had already started hacking the door to get in. "You know Rana, usually the big red button means 'Fire' not 'Speed Boost'." I quipped as I got off my bike.

"I'm sorry Forrest, but I assumed that you would have figured it out in time. Which you did I might add." She replied without even looking up from her omni-tool. I really had nothing to say to that so I kept my mouth shut as we waited for Rana to open the door and for Delina to join us.

When Delina finally parked her bike, Rana had managed to open the door to let us into the underground base that contained in all likely hood some god awful experiments.

"Nothing like déjà vue, eh?" I muttered as the four of us made our way down.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"How the HELL did these things get here?" I shouted as the last Thorian Creeper had its head blown off by Wrex and his shotgun. When we cut the power, the four of us all recognized the moans and groans of the Creepers we had fought barely over a day ago. Wrex being the impatient killing machine he was didn't wait for the gun fire and screams to stop and simply waltzed right in and started blasting everything he saw that was moving. Garrus, John, and I came in right after him taking our shots carefully, aiming for the head on the creepers and trying to cause only flesh wounds on whatever personnel were there.

"Well, I think we can guess that Cerberus had someone on Feros that managed to send a few of them here..." Garrus offered.

"Yeah a few _dozen_..." John corrected. "What the hell were they trying to do here? With the Thorian dead, what had control over these things?" He kicked the husk of a Creeper that had been hit with a biotic warp from a Cerberus researcher. From what we could tell, the Cerberus researchers were holding _all_ of the Creepers in the same holding cell. That holding cell was primarily a section of the room walled off by four kinetic barriers. When Wrex blew the power conduit, the kinetic barriers dropped unleashing the Creepers on the ill equipped researchers.

"I don't know... All of the data terminals were either wiped or destroyed by the Krogan-ator over there" I replied, thumbing over to Wrex as I finished a failed attempt at a hard drive recovery. "I only hope that the larger thermal signature has backups of the data they had here otherwise we're screwed."

"None of the Cerberus personnel are in any shape to talk either Commander's," Garrus informed us after checking the bodies. "I did manage to grab all of their omni-tools and ID tags. Hopefully it will help the Alliance learn about what was going on here."

"We can only hope..." John muttered. "Kaira can you read me?... Kaira? Damn, signal must be blocked. Let's get topside and see if we can get a hold of them."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Rana, what do we have?" Kaira asked our engineer who had her head almost buried in her omni-tool.

"I managed to get access to some networks, but nothing of worth was on them besides the fact that there are mostly researchers in the other room with a small security squad." Rana reported.

"Nothing for a lay out?" I asked, just to be sure.

Rana shook her head, "No, unfortunately not this time."

Kaira stood in the same spot, obviously contemplating how to approach this. "Alright, Jackson think you can take point?" She finally asked.

"Yes ma'am." I replied, cocking the Scimitar shotgun. As awesome as the Spectre rifle was, it wouldn't serve that well in close quarters.

"Alright, you do what you do best, Delina and I will follow behind you, Rana you act as peripheral support."

The four of us moved into position, with myself standing to the side of the door. I held up three fingers and slowly brought them down one by one. As soon as I brought my pointer finger down, I hit the holographic button to open the door and charged to the first person I saw.

The helpless goon looked like a security guard having light armor and only a pistol for a side arm. My shotgun was primed and ready before I did the charge, so when I reached the end of the tunnel, I had it up under his shields. One pull of the trigger and he was down for the count. I quickly spun to a column he was standing by for cover, which was not a moment too soon as I saw a biotic warp fly past the spot I was just a moment before.

Kaira and Delina did like they said they would and came in right after I did, Delina's assault rifle barking while Kaira let a singularity fly off to her right. I took the chance to survey the area and noticed the column I was standing by a part of a kinetic barrier cell that held some rather large insects.

Not having time to stare, I took a look around the corner to see where the next hapless victim was.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!" A biotic researcher screamed into my face as I looked around the corner of the pillar. Her biotics were already flared, and she used a Throw to get me out from behind the pillar. Unfortunately for her, I had enough experience to counter a simply throw and used my own biotics to stabilize myself before I impacted the far wall. Once I got back onto my feet, I put my shotgun into my right hand and formed a biotic-blade with my left.

"Was that seriously the best line you could come up with?" I asked, noticing in the corner of my eyes how the rest of the squad was dealing with the researchers and security teams rather easily. Not giving the researcher time to even formulate a comeback, I bull rushed into her. She threw another Throw at me which I easily dodged by rolling underneath it. I could have at this point pushed my shotgun under her shields or barrier and ended her, instead I used my shotgun as a club and hit her in the stomach. She doubled over in pain, and using a move Mitchell showed me I elbowed her on the base of her neck paralyzing her temporarily.

With that researcher out for the foreseeable future, I charged to a duo of security guards that had Delina and Kaira pinned. When I got there, they both had their heads frozen solid by a cryo blast from Rana.

"Wow Rana, I think Delina has rubbed off on you too much... Now _your_ stealing my kills!" I cried out playfully. Rana only smirked slightly before heading to the nearest terminal to see if there was any data available. "Commander, I managed to knock out one of their researchers." I called over, "We might want to call the Normandy down to take custody of her."

"Good job Jackson... T'Suni to Normandy, come in Normandy... T'Suni to Shepard come in Shepard... Rana are there any comm links down here?"

"No Commander, but I believe that we may want to inform the Council of those things in the kinetic barrier cell... According to what files I could reconstruct, these are Rachni."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

When our group of four made it back out to the Mako, any attempts at trying to get in contact with Kaira and her squad all returned with static. Even using the Normandy as a relay didn't help matters. So naturally John began driving in the direction of the base they were supposed to hit. All the while I was communicating with Pressly to see if he could get any shots like he did before. Unfortunately a storm started moving through our area of operation, not allowing Pressly to get a clear shot.

"Alright John, the best I can tell is that they managed to get past the outer defenses. The two turrets are blown to hell and I'm pretty sure I can see the outline of a couple bodies holding some large rocket launchers." I reported my findings after analyzing the best picture Pressly could get. "There are four objects by the entrance, but those could be anything..."

"We're five minutes away, better to show up and find everything is alright than to proceed as planned and later find out they were pinned down." He replied, pushing the accelerator even harder. I swear he must have made an impression of his boot in the metal of the pedal by now.

I was thankful that this part of the planet was mostly just some rolling hills, nothing to serious for John to crazy on. Although his attempts at using the thrusters to speed the Mako along didn't exactly help. The entire trip, I'm pretty sure Garrus was cursing whatever god/s he believed in for all the calibrations he was going to have to do after the mission. Wrex on the other hand simply sat in his heavy duty seat with an unimpressed stare through the windshield.

"_..-ommander She-... -itchell... Do you copy? I repeat, Commander Shepard or Mitchell do you copy?"_ Kaira's voice finally came over our comm link!

"Yeah!" I nearly yelled into the mic, "We read you Kaira, what's your situation?"

"_Objective complete but with some complications... We have a POW and a slight bug problem..."_

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Well this should be interesting..." I muttered as I looked in on the Rachni soldiers.

"No kidding... I thought these guys were supposed to be extinct!" John exclaimed.

"You're not the only one Shepard! My people died by the millions to stomp these creatures into the mud!" Wrex yelled. Needless to say he was more than pissed, and was ready to take down the kinetic barriers so he could take on the five soldiers by himself.

"I can only imagine what it's like for you Wrex," Kaira offered, "But the Council needs to be informed of this..." During this exchange, I went over to Jackson to borrow his shotgun, which he gave up hesitantly.

"We do that and then the Council is going to raise all hell because an Alliance splinter group somehow came across a bunch of Rachni, which by all means should be dead!" John yelled.

**BOOM! **"NOW EVERYONE CALM THE FUCK DOWN!" I yelled out using the suits speakers, after having fired the shotgun into the kinetic barrier. Thankfully everyone listened, and after tossing Jackson his shotgun back I began, "Now... Correct me if I'm wrong, but Jackson here managed to get one of their researchers. Rana also managed to get some data from the terminals. So as I see it we have three options. Garrus and someone else stays here to interrogate the prisoner while the rest of us go take care of the last base and deal with the Rachni later, we take the prisoner with us after killing the Rachni and hope we find uncorrupted and clean data files at the base, or we involve the Council which will just screw shit up for everyone."

"I go with the one where we kill the Rachni," Wrex grunted.

"I'd be willing to stay and interrogate," Garrus offered.

"I have an idea," John interrupted, "We call in the Normandy, put the researcher in the spare room under guard and simply kill the Rachni. Before the Normandy takes back off, Tali will come with us to help with any data collection at the main base. Then when we got everything we can from the final base, we'll interrogate the researcher."

Everyone was silent for a while considering the options. While it was mostly up to John, Kaira and myself, John wanted to get everyone's opinions. Slowly, everyone besides Kaira and myself agreed with the plan.

"Well... This is your operation Shepard, and technically this is under Alliance jurisdiction. We were here as support and knew nothing about the content of these bases." Kaira grudgingly replied.

"Thank you Kaira," John said sincerely, "Now, let's set up an effective crossfire to take these bugs out and get on with the mission."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Half an hour and a lot of bug guts later, we were on our way to the final base. I personally was glad that Kaira didn't push the issue about informing the Council about the Rachni, that would have more than likely made things a nightmare for everyone involved. While we waited for the Normandy to touch down, the researcher woke back up and tried to escape by using her biotics to create a push field emanating from her body, but Wrex was able to get a stasis field on her neutralizing her long enough that Shepard managed to sedate her with a heavy dose of medi-gel.

To get to the base Kaira, Delina, Rana and I were able to take our bikes and took a relatively straight path. The Mako was another story though, and watching Shepard's driving from the outside made me appreciate the fact that I wasn't riding inside it this time.

Even though the trek was fifteen minutes, it seemed to fly by and before I knew it I was looking at a cliff that reminded me of the Grand Canyon. It was completely vertical in some spots, but if you looked close enough you could make out small distortions that must have been the ventilation system for the base.

Garrus' and Rana's own thermal scans of the cliff face showed us that ironically enough, this Cerberus group decided to have two entrances for this base, one at the bottom of the cliff with a concealed garage door and one at the top next to what Mitchell thought to be a concealed hangar. Considering we didn't want to waste any time with a pincer attack the three Commander's decided to simply get inside the base and just go by ear as far as breaking off for clearing the base out.

"Alright, as soon as Rana and Tali hack this door we are going to go in and do a sweep and clear of the room. Once it's clear, the engineering duo will hack into the data network to get a schematic of the base. From there we'll split up and take the base floor by floor. Garrus, I want you and Tali to stay down here to hold this level." Shepard ordered after coming back from a small tactical meeting with Kaira and Mitchell they had while they waited for Rana and Tali to break the codes on the lower door. From a distance and from a top down view it would nearly impossible to tell a door was there thanks to a very clever painting and molding job done on the door that most likely served as garage door. It was big enough to fit two Makos in simultaneously with room to spare.

"Commanders!" Tali's distinctive voice rang out, "We have control of the door!"

"All right people! Stack up on the edges and wait until the door is completely open before you move in!" John ordered sounding like a true infiltrator specialist. Kaira, Delina, myself and Rana lined up on the left side while John, Wrex, Garrus and Tali lined up on the right. Mitchell on the other hand, went prone on the ground just outside the door with a knife in his right hand.

"Ryan! What the hell are you doing?" John questioned.

"What you can't!" He replied as he cloaked himself when the door started opening. The door itself was split vertically down the middle, and before it opened it shifted back about half a meter before opening to the sides. As I watched the spot where Mitchell was, it looked like a bit of wind was going over the dirt... As soon as the 'wind' hit the metal of the door's frame, the door opening was about a meter wide.

As we waited for the door to open, I didn't hear anything moving on the other side of the doors;

not even the sound of Mitchell's footsteps. A few agonizing seconds later just as the doors stopped and had completely opened, Mitchell came walking back out uncloaked.

"Well... Either we must have scared this group off, or this base wasn't ready yet because there isn't anyone here." He reported as he put his knife away.

"Weird..." John muttered to himself, before shaking his head. "They could be holing up in a different level to consolidate their defenses. Rana and Tali, do what you do best and get us a schematic."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_Not gonna lie... Something feels off about this..._ I thought to myself as Jackson and I went ahead to secure the top level. My earlier theory was right, there was a concealed hanger bay for receiving shipments. Garrus, Tali, and Rana stayed down in the garage when Tali discovered the central computer for Cerberus' operations on this planet. As soon as Tali discovered it and tried to gain access, it began to purge itself. With Rana's help, she managed to save most of the data. John ordered them to see what their latest shipments were while the rest of us went to take care of the base.

The base itself was divided into four sections with two rooms on each. The top being the hangar, below that was crew quarters, third was the laboratory, and the fourth was the garage. Each level had a security checkpoint room before the actual section Jackson and I had already cleared the crew quarters finding no personnel there.

As the elevator slowly worked its way up to the hangar level, I decided to check in with John.

"Hey John, Jackson and I are enroute to the hangar. Nothing of value in the crew quarters. How about on your end?"

A few seconds passed before the comm link activated, sending the sounds of mechanical moans and gunshots through to me. "We're doing good! **BLAMBLAMBLAM**" John shouted between bursts of his rifle, "We managed to find a small contingent of researchers who were about to experiment on Admiral Kahoku! **BOOM!**" The roar of Wrex's shotgun could be heard quite distinctly in the background, "They were holding the Husks that we encountered on Eden Prime here! We're working on eliminating them now!"

"Need any back up?" I asked, knowing the response.

"No we don't we got this under control! Admiral Kahoku sends his regards!" John shouted before closing the link.

"Well... That's some good news..." Jackson commented, "It's kind of surprising though how an Alliance Admiral can be kidnapped and no one notice."

"That's what spooks are trained to do Jackson... Accomplish their mission in a way so that no one knows they were ever there until it's too late..."

A couple minutes later and I was ready to rip a ceiling panel off the top of the elevator and climb my way to the hangar.

"Mitchell do you copy?" Garrus' flanged voice came from the comm link.

"Yeah I do Garrus what's up?" I asked while the elevator finally came to a halt.

"Tali and Rana managed to reconstruct their shipping manifests... The last entry was from earlier today..."

"Yeah... What was it?" Jackson activated the door from the security area to the hangar while I hung back not paying attention to what was in the hangar.

"It's corrupted but it says something about nano tech."

As soon as Garrus said nano tech, everything around me seemed to freeze while I processed that.

"Hey Mitchell... You may want to have a look in here..." Jackson's voice called out from the hangar bay. The urgentness in his voice snapped my out of my fazed state, and I jogged over to the hangar. Inside it was a small shuttle with its side door open and a large crate with its top off on the ground next to it with Jackson looking inside. Hesitantly I walked over to the crate next to Jackson. When I got close enough, I saw something I never thought I'd see in my life.

"N2..." I breathed... _The successor to my suit..._ "But how is that possible!"

"Easy..." A new voice called out from behind me, causing Jackson and I to both simultaneously draw our weapons and aim it at the source of the voice. What we saw was a man roughly John's age, same stature as well, Asian being his primary descent with what looked to be some Latino, but no armor just regular clothes. "We made a deal with that suits owner..." The door leading from the hangar to the elevator snapped shut, its holographic interface glowing red indicating it locked. "And that deal was to get you, Master Sergeant Mitchell..." The man called out.

I laughed, "Really? You think you'll be able to take me on? It won't exactly be a fair fight."

The man laughed as well, "You got part of that right... It **won't **be a fair fight..."

The next thing I knew, it felt like I was being struck my several dozen miniature lightening strikes.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_Who the hell is this guy?_ I thought to myself as I dove for cover. Mitchell was lying on the ground next to me after being hit with what looked like small balls of electricity. Doing the only thing I could, I dove for cover, a stream of the balled electricity hitting against my shields harmlessly. I looked for a source of the attack and saw in the darkness of the hangar three goons carrying a gun that looked like a small sub machine gun. The Asian dude from before was slowly making his way over to us, and I had to make a choice.

Slinging my shoulders forward, I launched myself towards one of the goons carrying the weird guns. My shotgun in my right and a biotic blade in the left, the guy had no clue what hit him. Knowing that the other two guys would be attempting to hit me, I charged in a random direction before checking my surroundings.

From my new spot near the front of the shuttle, I could see Mitchell beginning to get back up, but struggling. The Asian dude got right up next to him and pulled out what appeared to be an old power drill. As he bent over to stick it into Mitchell's suit, I could see a tattoo of a snake eating its own tail on his own neck... _Ouroboros I think is what that's called..._ Before Mr. Snake could do whatever it was he was going to do to Mitchell I launched a throw at him. The biotic attack sent him flying into a random crate about ten meters away from Mitchell. _I hope that slows him down..._

That attack gave away my position as more of those electric balls hit my shields, depleting them before I could get back into cover. I took a quick peek around the corner to see where they had come from, and saw a guy trying to circle around the shuttle. _Not today..._ I charged to where he would be, and with my shotgun under any shields he may of have, he was down for the count. _Only two more to go..._

The last idiot finally decided to switch tactics and drew an assault rifle to begin pepper the area I was in. Taking some quick cover, I saw what he was going to try to do. He was moving closer to Mitchell who had just got to his knees, and probably make a move to use him as a human shield. Putting all common sense aside, I focused all of my biotic energy into the charge's release at the end of the tunnel and charged directly at the goon.

A split second later, and he was flying through the air until he hit the wall of the hangar and fell back down to the floor with a nice loud **thud**. Satisfied with the results of my work, I went over to check on Mitchell.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Well..." I groaned as I got back up from the surprise attack, "That happened..." The attack whatever it was caused the suit to immediately seize up, deplete its energy reserves, as well as shock the hell out of me. As I looked around to assess the situation, I could see the Asian man was knocked into a crate and wasn't moving and there were three other guys lying around. "Well... Jackson was busy..."

"You bet'chya..." he answered as he hopped over a crate to check on the Asian. "It wasn't too hard, although those guns they had are something else. I didn't think that anything would be able to take you down like that." He continued over to the knocked out Asian. As he kneeled down to check his pulse, I saw the man's hand move. Before I could even utter a single word, Jackson had been hit with a syringe filled with some kind of blue liquid in his neck, which the man immediately injected into him. Half a second later and Jackson fell down limp.

As the Asian man got up I could see some sort of tattoo, but couldn't make out the details. "Well, that wasn't part of the plan, but thankfully we have a back up prepared."

Not waiting to see what that might be, I cloaked myself and rolled behind the nearest crate for cover. Unfortunately, the suit was still recovering from the electrical attack/overload, and was only holding about 40% of its usual energy supply. Checking my surroundings again for signs of another ambush, I saw 2 more men come out from the shuttle. _Perfect..._ Instead of looking around for me, they nodded in the direction of the Asian, and went back inside.

I took a quick look around my cover, Tattoo was coming closer to my spot, walking very slowly. Hearing the sounds of boots on metal I saw the two guys from the shuttle come out with goggles on and some weird weapon again. Before I had the chance to move or even think of a way to attack them, they both lowered their guns at me and fired.

What ensued was the same feeling as before, the suit constricting and relaxing at random, the HUD flickering, my body being shocked, it was torture and they kept pouring it on. Finally before I thought I would pass out from the literal shock to my system, they stopped. My own muscles were no longer under control and the suit was giving no indication of operating anytime soon. As I layed there on the ground, the crate behind me supporting my back, my vision began to fade.

"Radio the Illusive Man... We have the package..."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_Damnit-damnit-damnit! _was the only thought on John's mind. In the rush of actually saving Kahoku, he forgot to checkin with Mitchell. When he received no reply on the comms once he had cleared the room, he sent Garrus, Tali, and Rana to the elevator to meet him, Kaira, Delina, Wrex, and Kahoku. All eight of them packed in the elevator wasn't that comfortable, but John didn't care.

As soon as the door opened on the hangar level John sprinted to the door leading to the hangar itself, only to find it locked. Tali rushed to his side and began to hack it open. John was almost ready to simply start planting explosives on the door and blow it _now_ than wait, but his patience held long enough to allow Tali to get the door open.

Once it cycled open, John again sprinted through it only to find a shuttle lifting off through the hangar door in the roof. Around the hangar were three dead Cerberus goons, and Jackson was lying limp in the middle. _Where is Ryan?_

"Oh Goddess..." He faintly heard Rana say as he ran up to Jackson's form. Running a quick scan and checking his pulse, John was relieved that Jackson was still alive and simply sedated. _He's the only one who can tell us where Ryan is..._

"Normandy..." John radioed. "Are you tracking any out bound shuttles?"

"_Negative Commander, no activity._" Pressly reported.

"DAMNIT!" John punched a nearby crate, "Cerberus must have the IES tech from the Normandy... That's the only way they could have gone unnoticed..."

While the ground team waited for the Normandy and the Akina to land, they gathered everything they could. Mainly the weapons the Cerberus personnel had on them, since all the crates were empty. Kaira after double checking on Jackson's status walked over to John who had gone over to a crate to sit down by himself.

"Losing some one from a team is never easy. Believe me I know," Kaira started. "When we lost Jackson for the first time, it was nearly assured that he was dead. After 170 years we had come to accept that he was gone, so when we learned that he had been revived it was a huge shock for us."

"Except he wasn't taken by a group seeking to exploit the very thing that makes him who he is and the source of his abilities for their own gains."John interrupted, "Which is why once we learn everything we can from Jackson, I am devoting every resource I have at my disposal at finding him. Ryan won't go down without a fight." Kaira nodded and left John alone for the time being.

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Med Bay**

**3 hours later**

"Ungh..." _Why does this always happen to me?_ The good thing was I was alive, the pain in my head and my neck where I had been stabbed by Mr. Snake confirming that. The bad thing was I realized that I wasn't in my armor or on a cold hard metal floor but rather on a bed.

"Wake up sleeping beauty," Delina's ever admonishing tone began, "Now that your awake Shepard is going to want to know what happened."

I struggled slight to sit up, "Thanks D, but unfortunately there isn't much to tell..." Right at that moment Shepard, Liara, and Ash all came storming into the Med-Bay. Followed behind them was Kaira and Rana.

"All right Jackson, from the top NOW!" John bellowed while giving me the coldest stare. Ash was giving me an equally hard glare, while Liara simply looked like she wanted answers.

As I told them about the events that transpired, John's stare persisted while Ash's softened up and Liara looked like she was on the edge of tears. When I mentioned the Mr. Snake, Shepard perked up.

"Wait..." He interrupted, "Can you give a detailed description of him?" he asked handing me a data pad that contained what looked like a sketching program. It listed the various options for race, gender, facial structure, hair color and style, and miscellaneous. After spending about 15 minutes on it before I was satisfied with the results, I handed it back to Shepard. He then entered in a command, and a second later it came up with a picture.

"Kai Leng..." He muttered, "Thanks Jackson, is there anything else about what happened that you can tell us?"

I shook my head, "No, I'm sorry Commander. It's my fault..."

"No..." He growled. "Its Cerberus' fault..."

* * *

**Unknown Location**

**Sometime later**

**/Suit and User threat detected.../**

**/Non-Authorized User attempting to disengage Nanoshell.../**

**/Engaging Emergency Protocol 421... Fusing all seals.../**

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Oy... Why is it that I almost always have to wake up with headaches?" I asked out loud to no one in particular. The room I was in was perfectly dark and I was strapped into something resembling the Craddle Hackett had on Arcturus. Initial attempts at getting out were futile, whatever it was that was holding me in covered everything except my head and neck.

"Good..." A surprisingly well cultured voice began, "Your awake..." Wherever the lights were, they all turned on revealing the room to be a cross of a surgery theater and laboratory. I was the sole occupant of the room while in front and above me there was a window with a man in an expensive looking suit along with a figure still in the shadows. Studying his features, I noticed that his eyes seemed to have a blue glow to them but couldn't tell for sure. "I'm glad we are finally able to meet face to face Lieutenant Commander Mitchell... Or should I call you Master Sergeant?"

"What you can call me is your worst nightmare buddy! Who the hell are you, and what do you want?" I yelled back. As soon as I finished, the same shock that I had experienced twice now ran through my body causing me to cry out in pain.

"Who I am is not important compared to what you represent Mitchell... All I want is to understand how that suit of yours works... The less you fight us, the sooner you can go back to tracking down Saren." Blue-Eyes replied as he put a cigarette between his lips and lit it up. "We both know that Shepard will place that mission first before coming for you."

"I've only got two words for you, and I'm sure you can guess what they are..." I growled back through gritted teeth in preparation for the coming shock. "... Fuck... You!"

Blue-Eyes sighed, "Mitchell allow me to introduce you to someone..." The figure obscured by shadows stepped forward and revealed a face that I thought I'd never see again... "I believe you've met Jacob Hargreave..."

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Comm Room**

**3 hours after 517th's departure**

Once Jackson had recovered from being sedated, the 517th while eager to help, realized that they would more than likely get in the way. Kaira promised John that if they heard anything about Mitchell that they would forward the information. As good byes were spoken , Kahoku offered his personal thanks to the 517th and ensured that the Council and the proper Thessian Officials would receive word from him.

"Well as much as I hate to say it people," John started, "We have to choose between two missions... Going after Saren... Or finding Ryan..." He looked into everyone's eyes to gauge where they were at. Ash and Kaiden had the steely eyes of Marines who were told they were going in for a rescue mission; they wouldn't come back out without their teammate. Tali was a bit harder to read, but from the way she was fidgeting she was torn. Garrus and Wrex both looked like they would kill anyone who stood in their way, but Garrus obviously saw Saren as the greater threat. Then there was Liara, she was all over the emotional spectrum, between guilt at not being there to help and anger at the ones who took Ryan. Kahoku chose to sit in on the meeting as well, seeing how he had most experience with Cerberus. It didn't take a professional to tell he was feeling guilty for the loss of Ryan in addition to his men on Edolus to the same group.

"Commander, if I may..." Kahoku started, "With the data your team managed to recover from that base I was held in, and the current data I have in my possession, we may be able to figure out where Commander Mitchell was taken."

"It's a start Admiral, but how much time will that take?" John asked. "Saren is out there searching for a means of wiping out the entire galaxy! Ryan would understand that we would pursue Saren first then him."

"That's a valid argument Shepard," Kahoku offered, putting up his hands to tell Shepard to back down, "But do you have any leads right now on Saren?"

"... No we don't..." John admitted.

"Pardon the interruption everyone," Joker's voice sounded from the PA, "But we have an incoming call for you Shepard. Unknown sender and the encryption is off the scale..."

Everyone's eyebrows quirked, "Patch them through Joker..."

"Commander Shepard?" A moderately deep voice came over.

"Yes? Who am I speaking with?"

"Answer this first, is Atlas with you?"

"Who is Atlas?"

"I'm sorry, you probably know him as Ryan Mitchell."

John's faced suddenly went from curiosity to anger, "Who the hell are you and what do you know about Ryan!"

The caller remained silent for a few seconds, " You can call me Prophet..."

* * *

**A/N: Oh yeah... Shit just got real up in here!**

**Sorry for the cliff hanger, but it's the only way I could end this chapter.**

**Now for my usual A/N**

**I know I have different dates posted throughout the story, I finally managed to come up with a clear cut timeline.**

**I decided to alter up the layout of the Normandy a tad from the way I had mentioned earlier in the story. On the second level (where the med bay, captains quarters, and mess hall are), across from the elevator that takes you down to the cargo bay and engineering, that wall with the data screen will now become a hall that has the non-ground teams quarters on one side and a fitness/rec area on the other. The ground teams quarters will be where the sleeper pods are with 4 on each side. Next to the area Kaiden is usually found is a fully equipped kitchen/cooking area. If you are confused about the new layout, send me a PM or a review with an email address to which I can send a .jpeg file.**

**If you didn't read the beginning A/N on chapter 13 or if you haven't had a chance yet, I strongly recommend checking out LEGION001's story Nano Effect. I have been and am helping him out with it and it's a different take on a Crysis/Mass Effect crossover where the tech from Crysis is developed in the Mass Effect chain of events. **

**There is also a new ME/Crysis story out there! Overwatch's Nomadic:Tier One! For those of you who want a nore 'pure' Crysis crossover, this is for you!**

**The poll for whether or not Shep and Mitchell should save the Council is closed and in its place is a poll for when you guys want the Ceph to make an appearance in the Mass Effect time line. Unlike my other polls, you'll be able to see the results after you vote as well as being able to vote for two choices! My goal for this poll is to beat the 73 votes from the last one. There are 100-ish people who have this story alerted and I would appreciate it if you all voted!**

**I have started a Mass Effect/Crysis Forum. It's open to everyone to make a thread to ask questions about my story, talk about Crysis in general, etc etc. (fanfiction*net/myforums/DN7/2729469/)**

**I also have created a ME/C crossover community where I will keep track of all ME/Crysis crossovers! (fanfiction*net/community/Crysis_Mass_Effect_Crossovers/95666/)**

**As always, please review! If you didn't like the length of the chapter, or felt it could have been done better let me know! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not going to promise any kind of schedule for this fic, and if you want updates you can view them on my profile!**

**Finally, a **_**HUGE**_** shout out to Freeride600! He's dealt with my rather weird writing habit for the past three months and has been an excellent sport about it! I highly recommend those of you who get tired of waiting for the next chapter of METUH to check out his fic Chaos Effect if you haven't already!**


	15. Deadman Walking, Part I

**ME:TUH**

**Chapter 15.1 : Dead Men Walking**

**(Chapter 15 on FF)**

* * *

**A/N: SOO a few things before you guys get angry at me for not updating in the past 5 months.**

**-Juggling 18 credits (12 of which are 4 different computer programming languages), work, and family commitments while writing is not the easiest thing in the world.**

**-METUH is over a year old! Thanks most to you guys who have kept with me and kept reading. Though with it being a year old, ****I expect a lot more from myself when it comes to my writing, I want it to be the best it can be.**

**-I had to literally create the entire back story for Crysis 1 and 2 since there are numerous plot holes/questions in the games.**

**Now, on to _important_ matters. Since some of you did not like the length of chapter 14 (which I understand completely), I am taking a different approach to putting out new chapters. Since I prefer to cover a lot of ground in one chapter, and don't like posting what I have until it's all done, I will be cutting up the insanely long chapters into more manageable ones.**

**So while there will be several chapters coming after this on the site, they are in fact the same one in my mind (similar to how ****iNf3ctioNZ, if you read his fic series 'Masses to Masses' has his 'cases' that span multiple chapters).** ** This works for this 'arc' especially since there are entire chapters than can be skipped if you've played the games or read the comic. **

**With that said, this arc for what I consider chapter 15 is not done yet! But considering that ME3 comes out soon and I have a huge birthday bash with my friends planned for next weekend, I figured I'd get this out to you guys now. You'll be getting two sections today, two tomorrow, and three on Monday.**

**Now onto what you are all waiting for!**

* * *

**In Orbit Over Binthu, Yangzte, Voyager Cluster**

**July 28, 2183 15:00 hours ship time**

**Normandy SR-1**

**Comm Room**

"_You can call me Prophet..._" the deep male voice echoed in the Comm Room. John didn't know how, but those five words seemed to carry an invisible weight with them that said he should respect the man behind them. Everyone else in the Comm Room was quiet for a few seconds as well, transfixed by the man's words.

"Listen Prophet..." Kahoku started up breaking the silence, "I am Admiral Kahoku and I demand to know what is going on here."

"_Sorry Admiral, but you aren't my superior officer... Now Shepard, if you and your crew wish to learn more about Mitchell and possibly a way to rescue him I suggest that you come to these coordinates on Terra Nova as soon as possible. I'll be waiting."_

Before Kahoku could utter another word, the comm link died frustrating everyone in the room to some degree. Kaiden and Ash were visibly flexing their fists in anger, Garrus' mandibles were twitching, Tali's hands were wringing together, and Liara looked even more distraught than normal.

"_Commander," _Joker's voice came over the PA system, _"I looked into those coordinates he sent, and they are the entrance to an abandoned iron mine on Terra Nova..." _While Joker gave them the info, Kahoku took Ryan's spot leaning on the console leaving John to take the floor.

"Thanks Joker," John replied as he turned around to face his team, "Alright guys, I keep an open door policy on our missions and tactics. Same applies here." As he let the open invitation hang there, he started to worry that they lost their nerves thanks to the Admiral presence.

"I owe Mitchell, and the rest of you, my life." Kahoku started, "Cerberus took my men, then myself. You and your team came in to rescue me and as a result Mitchell was captured. I am going to see that Cerberus pays for their crimes."

John nodded, "Thank you Admiral for your support."

"I agree," Ash piped up, "We don't leave people behind and we won't start now."

"I'm with Ash, Commander. Mitchell has helped us, it's time we help him." Kaiden added.

"Well... Saren is the bigger threat..." Garrus started, which earned him a death glare from Ash. "But we don't have any leads on him at the moment so let's get Mitchell back."

Wrex grunted, "Finally the Turian and I agree on something..." and proceeded to stomp out of the Comm Room.

John got the hint, "Alright crew dismissed. It's roughly four hours to Terra Nova, so be ready." Before Kahoku left the Comm Room, John pulled him aside. "Admiral, you may use my quarters if you wish during your stay aboard the Normandy."

Kahoku shook his head, "I appreciate the offer Shepard, but I anticipate this rescue operation to be resolved swiftly." As Kahoku made to leave, John quickly snapped off a salute to the Admiral. As Kahoku returned it, he said, "I believe as a Spectre you are no longer a part of the Alliance military Shepard; you don't need to salute me." Kahoku then proceeded to walk out the door of the Comm Room, leaving John there to think about what he said.

After a few moments of thought, John walked out of the Comm Room and into the CIC. Walking past the galaxy map, he nodded to Pressly who returned the gesture, and continued on up to the cockpit. As soon as he got next to Joker, the pilot stopped what he was doing and focused on John.

"Commander, I'm sorry. We wouldn't have lost Mitchell if I had thought to look for a ship taking off that used the same tech as us." Joker said, clearly feeling like the man who dropped the ball.

"It's all right Joker, we didn't know what kind of resources Cerberus had going into this. Technically we still don't but we won't underestimate them next time."

"Aye-aye sir, Terra Nova is two relay jumps away so about our ETA is about four hours."

"Thanks Joker, I'll talk to you later." John said as he turned to head on down to the second level.

"Hey Commander..." Joker called out.

"Yeah?"

"When we find the goons who took Mitchell, kick one of them in the ass for me."

John smiled at the cripples request and continued on his way down the CIC's hall to the stairs situated at the back. Once he got down the stairs, he made a beeline to talk to Kaiden. As usual the biotic was working on the same panel he had been since they arrived on the Normandy. _Gotta give him props for determination..._ John thought to himself as he walked up to him.

"Commander," Kaiden spoke as he wiped some sweat off his forehead and turned towards John. "Need something?"

"Just checking in as usual Kaiden, you should know that by now."

Kaiden laughed, "You're right I should. As far as the mission goes I was surprised at how many biotics Cerberus had in their ranks. I guess that fits with the whole super-soldier deal they were going for. The thing I don't get is why they didn't try to pack up and leave. Unless they knew somehow that we were coming for them and had been wanting to get their hands on Mitchell and his suit. That would imply we have a spy on the Normandy."

John tensed up, ever since Jackson brought that issue to light, he had contacted Anderson and Hackett and asked them to go through all the records of everyone that was on board the Normandy for any potential leads. Thus far nothing had turned up, and due to the sensitive nature of Mitchell, the suit, and Cerberus, no one else could possibly know about a potential mole on the Normandy.

"Commander?" Kaiden asked, "What's wrong, you look tense?"

John snapped back to attention, "Sorry Kaiden, just processing what you said. Captain Anderson and I went through all the crew's files before we brought them on board. No traces of anyone who could be a mole."

"Well the leak may not be here on the Normandy, but somewhere in the Alliance chain of command. Guess we won't find out until we rescue Mitchell."

John mentally sighed with relief, "That we will Kaiden, good luck with that panel."

"Thanks Commander," Kaiden groaned, picking up on the sarcasm in John's voice.

Continuing his rounds, John went into the Med bay for one of two reasons. The first being to check with Doctor Chakwas and her on going work with the sample of nanocells.

"Commander," Chakwas' distinct accent called out from her work station, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine Doctor, but Cerberus won't be when we find Mitchell." John replied.

"I don't doubt your resolve Commander; I know you'll bring Commander Mitchell back in good order. Now is there something you needed?"

"Yes actually. I was curious as to how your study of the nanocells is going."

"Quite frankly, I feel as if I am studying back at Mars Naval Medical Center. I understand conceptually what the cells are able to do for Mitchell's body. They amplify healing rates, strengthen tissue against damage, increase his natural strength and speed, and allow for a neural link to the nanosuit, along with a multitude of other functions. What I don't understand is how. Our current nanotechnology is nowhere near as advanced as this. The best we are able to do is develop faster microprocessors and efficiently create carbon nanotube sheets."

"So you are saying that even though Ryan jumped 160 years into the future that we _still_ aren't at the same level of understanding of nanotech?"

"Precisely Commander. Whoever developed these nanosuits must have been 3 Einstein's in one body, or just got very lucky in his research. I have discovered something else though. As an experiment, I decided to expose the cells to tissue samples of our non-human crew members. My initial hypothesis, which was that the nanocells would attack and destroy the alien cells, was partially correct. The nanocells seemed to attack the alien tissue at first, but then it began to assimilate its structure to adapt to its current environment."

John had his arms crossed since he started this discussion with Chakwas, but when she finished her statement, he dropped his arms and his mouth opened in disbelief.

"Before you ask Commander, I don't know what the long term effects could be. The nanocells merely adapted to their conditions as a means of survival. Much like a symbiotic organism does to reach its final, desired host."

"So if we were to inject a bunch of nanocells into Tali for instance, they wouldn't necessarily be beneficial to her." John asked to be sure he understood what Chakwas was saying.

"Correct Commander. The nanocells could allow her to be able to get rid of her enviro-suit, but it could also cause an uncontrolled allergic reaction or worse. I know that the cells are able to communicate with one another, but I haven't determined how. I have reached my limits in understanding them." Chakwas answered sadly.

"It's alright Doctor, we all encounter something we can't surpass once in a while." John assured her.

"Of course, Commander. I won't keep you any longer from your duties." Chakwas then leaned in closer to John and spoke in a hushed voice, "You'll want to go gentle on Dr. T'Soni, when she went through here she looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown."

"Thanks for the heads up Doc; I'll talk to you later." John said and proceeded to the storage room that Liara had turned to her work room.

As soon as he entered though, he could tell that she wasn't exactly in the greatest of moods. Data pads were lying all over the place, and each of her three data terminals had something or other related to Cerberus. Liara herself had her head resting in her hands, softly weeping and unaware that John had come into the room.

"Liara..." John spoke softly as he walked over to her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "How are you holding up?"

Liara brought her head up from her hands, tear streaks visible on her face which she promptly wiped away. "I'm sorry Commander; it's just that it's hard to believe that Ryan was abducted. I only wish that I could have been there to help him."

"I doubt that there would have been much you could have done Liara. Jackson was very lucky. Those Cerberus goons most likely would have taken you as well, or worse." John said as he pulled up a chair to sit next to the Asari.

"Thank you Shepard... I only hope that Ryan doesn't give up on us- I mean the crew of the Normandy." She quickly corrected herself.

John decided to take the opportunity to ask something that's been on his mind, "Liara, if you don't mind my asking how is the relationship between you and Ryan?"

Liara looked a little shocked, but quickly relaxed. "It is hard to describe. I have never felt this way for anyone before. I have always been more interested in my studies than having a social life. When you and your team came down to rescue me on Therum, I couldn't help but be fascinated with Ryan even under his armor. Even without seeing his face, there was something there that drew me to him."

"Alright, but it is kind of odd to see a connection between two different people develop so quickly." John commented.

"I believe that may have something to do with the times we melded our minds together so I could view the Prothean Beacon's message. The experience was unlike any I had ever heard of coming from other Asari. I have not told Ryan this, but I have been recalling memories that aren't my own. The most vivid has been of a woman. She looks like what I may had looked like had I been born a human instead of an Asari... The similarities are... Unnerving..."

"Well..." John started, knowing only a little bit of Ryan's full background, "I'd recommend talking to Ash once. DNA tests have confirmed that she is his great-great-granddaughter, and she may have some information on whoever that woman may be."

Liara's expression lightened up at that, "Thank you Shepard, I will talk to Chief Williams when I have the chance."

John smiled, "Take care Liara." As he got up and left, he finished saying, "We will get Ryan back, I promise you."

Leaving Liara in a better mood, John continued on down to the cargo hold for the rest of his rounds. The elevator thankfully waiting on the second level, John stepped inside and after checking to be sure no one else was coming that needed to use it as well, pressed the button to head down.

The unnecessarily long ride between the second level and the cargo hold over with, John made a bee line to talk with Wrex. The ancient Krogan standing like a statue between the omni-plant and the ground teams storage lockers as always, Wrex didn't look too concerned about the current situation.

"Wrex," John greeted. "How are you doing?"

"Ha," Wrex grunted, "Better than some on this ship. I've lived long enough to see plenty of allies taken by the enemy, but never one as skilled as Mitchell. If that Jackson kid story is true, then the men who took Mitchell down weren't true fighters. Had they fought him head on like warriors, Mitchell would still be here."

"So you aren't concerned about his wellbeing?"

"Not in particular. He's as Krogan as a human can get Shepard, once we figure out what this 'Prophet' wants and where Mitchell is, these Cerberus idiots will learn to fear crossing you, Mitchell, and anyone on this ship."

As John thought about it, the more the Krogan made sense. After the destruction the Normandy team had caused at the previous Cerberus bases, and the destruction bound to come, Cerberus had better be scared.

"I hadn't thought about it like that... We'll talk later Wrex."

"Shepard." Wrex nodded.

As John walked away from Wrex and over to Ash's work area, he felt a wave of dread and anxiety wash over him. Ever since the two of them had begun talking with each other, John couldn't help but feel like there was something between them. While they didn't agree on everything, John never the less enjoyed chatting with the Gunnery Chief. He was definitely interested in getting to know the Chief better but regulations didn't allow for fraternization between officers. _Even though I'm a Spectre now, and Kahoku said that I'm not a part of the Alliance technically..._ John thought to himself. _For now, until we get Ryan back, I'm playing it safe..._

"Commander..." Ash grunted as he neared the work table. She was busy stripping an assault rifle down, and was having a hard time removing the heat sink from its spot in the rifles frame work. After a second of working the heat sink with a pliers, it finally came out. Wiping the sweat off her forehead with her arm, she threw the heat sink onto the table, grabbed a rag, and quickly wiped her hands clean from oil and dirt.

"Hey Ash... I'm just making the rounds, seeing how everyone is dealing with losing Mitchell..." John said somberly. "I know we just recently found out that he's your ancestor, and that itself was huge. But to suddenly lose him-"

"It's alright Skipper," John had to smile at her nickname for him, "I'll admit that it was hard to grasp the idea of him being my great-great-grandfather, but after it sunk in I realized how lucky we are. How many people are even able to meet their great-grandparents, let alone great-greats?" Ash spoke, her voice filled with awe at the fact. Her face then turned serious as she continued, "Although now that Cerberus has taken him, I'm going to fight tooth and nail to get him back. My family is military through and through, and we don't leave people behind."

John smiled, "Don't worry, we'll get him back and make Cerberus pay ten-fold for anything they did to him"

"Looking forward to it Skipper." Ash said as she turned back around to continue working on the assault rifle. With her back now too him, John had made up his mind and moved up beside her making it seem like he was helping her with her work.

The move caught Ash off guard, "Comman-" she stuttered before John elbowed her

In a hushed voice, he began to speak as he took apart a pistol that was on the table. "Next time we get to the Citadel, if we don't have a lead on Saren, I'm giving us 36 hours of shore leave. I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me to Flux for some drinks." John never broke his concentration as he took apart the pistol, examined its inner workings, and put it back together.

Ash, thinking quickly, kept working on the assault rifle. "Sure, Skipper... Sounds like fun..."

As John made sure the pistol would function correctly once he reassembled it, he put it back on the table. "Until then Ash..." he said as he turned and walked away making a beeline for the Mako.

_I can't believe I just pulled that off..._ John thought to himself as he went towards Garrus. The Turian was working at the data terminal next to the Mako which gave him access to the Mako's computers, allowing him to calibrate the main cannon's and the coaxial's target algorithms.

"Hey Garrus, how'd the Mako fare after the last mission?" John asked.

"Surprisingly well Commander," Garrus said as he finished up some calculations. He then turned around to face John, "The guns calibrations were only off by a few degrees, the shocks weren't cracked, and the transmission didn't grind itself out. You humans sure know how to build things to last."

"Was that supposed to be a joke, Garrus?" John asked.

"Not really... We've put the Mako through hell, Mitchell survived jumping forward through time, and I'm just sensing a pattern emerging here." Garrus replied, his mandibles flaring as he spoke. John knew enough of Turian facial expressions to know his ex C-Sec detective was being sarcastic and just shook his head.

"Anyway, I'm just checking in Garrus. What do you think about our last mission?" John asked as he leaned against one of the Mako's wheels.

"To be honest Commander, this Cerberus group sounds like trouble. An Alliance Black Ops group gone rouge? To top it off they were experimenting on Husks, Thorian Creepers, and Rachnii all for some super-soldier program? Add in their capture of Mitchell and these guys are sounding like they are going to be thorns in our side for a long time."

"Well... That's the most brutal assessment that anyone has given..." John commented.

"Not a great analysis I know, but one way or another we're going to get Mitchell back." Garrus replied. "Unless of course he's already broken out and is fighting his way back to the Citadel..."

* * *

**Hidden Base**

**Nepheron, Voyager Cluster, Columbia System**

"Mr. Grabovich, we've finished our initial scans of the subject." A technician stated as he walked into Jacob's temporary office. The _arrangement_ between Hargreave and the Illusive Man had Hargreave bring his techs and equipment to a Cerberus base deep in the Traverse to do the grunt work on figuring out Mitchell's nanosuit.

"Well... Don't keep me waiting..." Hargreave grunted impatiently.

"For starters, we have no comparative analogue for the suit to base any of these findings on. The tech is light years beyond our understanding." Hargreave clenched his jaw, which didn't go unnoticed by his employee. "However, given the limited data we have from our previous experiments with the N2 remnants, we can say for certain that the subject and the nanosuit have _not_ formed a symbiotic connection even though the suit has created a full neural and biological interface."

As Hargreave sat and listened to his tech, he reached for a cigarette and lit it up. After getting one puff in, he asked, "What data have we got on the nanocells and FIRST? The key to figuring out the lack of symbiosis is in those nanocells and FIRST's programming."

"The suit has been detrimental in our efforts to obtain a blood sample. None of our instruments have been able to pierce the nanoweave or the carboplatnium joints. All attempts at wired and hardline connection to the deep layer programming have been blocked as well. It's like the suit has gone into lockdown mode to protect Mitchell."

"So... What you are saying is," a new voice interrupted, as the Illusive Man walked in, "that we are not able to remove Mitchell from the suit?"

The tech quickly turned around to glance at the Illusive Man, and glanced back at Hargreave who nodded for him to proceed. "The suits frame is made of an extremely durable alloy, Coltan-Titanium, with a Carboplatnium coating over the seams between the nanoweave and the frame. Every attempt so far as met with failure. Syringes, scalpels, every standard surgical tool breaks on contact with the suits Cryfibril."

The Illusive Man got an annoyed look on his face, "We have some _specialized _tools available for you to use to speed up the process."

"Calm down, Illusive Man." Hargreave ordered as he stamped out his cigarette, "The suit and Mitchell are invaluable to both of us. If one or the other is damaged, all we have worked for thus far will have been for nothing."

The Illusive Man fixed Hargreave with a cold gaze with his cybernetic eyes, then turned and left the office.

_Finally... _Hargreave thought. _That man is too concerned with the end results..._ "Alright Tyler," Hargreave turned his attention back to his tech, "While we wait for the suit skinner to arrive, continue monitoring the suit's processes as much as possible to look for weak points. Breaking through FIRST's firewalls and coding must take priority if we wish to take control of this... partnership"

"Of course sir." Tyler replied and left.

* * *

**A few moments later**

**The Illusive Man's personal shuttle**

After leaving Hargreave's 'office', the Illusive Man made for his shuttle. As much as he wanted to stay and observe the ongoing process of interrogating and analyzing the nanosuit and Mitchell, being the figure head for Cerberus required his attention elsewhere.

"Ms. Lawson," the Illusive Man called out, his shuttles on board VI instantly making the connection to Miranda's personal comm unit, "Have Dr. Issacs come to our Nepheron facility with his current research."

"Of course sir," the distinctly Australian voice of the Illusive Man's best field operative replied.

"Also, tell Mr. Leng to bring his best group with him to accompany Issacs. He is to ensure that we don't lose Issacs and to wait for further orders from myself."

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**In Orbit Over Terra Nova**

**July 28****th****, 2183 19:35 hours ship time**

**Cockpit**

Joker was true to his word as the Normandy arrived in the Asgard system of the Exodus cluster half an hour ago. After establishing orbit over the colony, Pressly and rest of the CIC began to run scans of the area surrounding the coordinates the mysterious Prophet had sent them. Terra Nova, being the second extra solar colony of earth, has had plenty of time to develop with a population of over four million and an excellent economy based on its numerous platinum mines.

The area the coordinates pointed to was centered on an abandoned iron mine. The colony, being founded in 2152, had initially started mining any and all materials that were common to mine on Earth. When Terra Nova's unexpected richness in platinum was discovered, common materials such as iron were left behind for the lucrative platinum veins. In the rush to move from old mining sites, many companies simply left the prefabs they had set up for their workers in place. They rationalized that when platinum starts to wind down, they can simply move right back to mining other minerals thanks to having the infrastructure already in place.

The mine the Normandy was looking at was abandoned in 2154, and its prefab district now a skeleton of its former self.

"Well guys..." John said as he walked up into the cockpit. "What have we got?"

"Besides an awesome location to shoot for a horror vid?" Joker replied, "Not much Commander. The nearest local population is about a dozen klicks away."

"Sensors haven't detected any sort of unnatural emissions in the entire area either Commander." Pressly added. "If anyone is down there, the mine would be the only spot they would be. When it was abandoned, it was a mile long. Under that much rock and iron ore, not even our sensors could pick up anything."

"So if we go in, we'll be out of radio contact." John surmised.

"Precisely Commander." Pressly confirmed. "If you ask me it sounds like a trap."

"Well... It's not a trap if we know it's coming." John shot back.

"Maybe not, but you still don't want to go in without all the facts." Kahoku's voice popped in from the hallway. "I asked the local law enforcement in the town closest to the mine about anything strange going on lately in their district." Kahoku handed John a datapad to read, and continued, "They have seen a significant decrease in gang related crime, along with a higher number of teenage and young adult hospitalizations. All of whom were involved in one gang or another."

John read the reports on the datapad, and it was exactly as Kahoku described. However, when he got to the pictures of the injured, he noticed a very familiar pattern. They all had bruising corresponding to marine CQC, albeit very advanced CQC. "Admiral... I think we have our man... Take a look at the victims bruising patterns and their testimony's."

After John handed the datapad back to Kahoku, the Admiral's eyes widened with the realization. "Marine CQC and 'attacked out of nowhere by a ghost'..." Kahoku mumbled.

"Joker!" John ordered, "Tell the ground team to be suited up and ready to go in five minutes!"

"Aye-aye sir!"

* * *

**Surface of Terra Nova**

**One kilometer south of abandoned mine**

**July 28****th****, 2183 19:50 ship time**

The only viable landing spot for the Mako was a clearing in the forest that surrounded the mine and the prefab district roughly one kilometer away. John was driving, as usual, with Ash controlling the guns and Tali navigating. Thankfully there was a road that lead from the prefab district to the town twelve kilometers away. It was reinforced to be able to handle the heavy equipment that needed to be moved and as such was a smooth ride.

After about ten minutes worth of driving, the Mako had finally reached the edge of the prefab mining town. Everyone had been quiet up to this point in the ride, each contemplating what they were likely to find.

As John slowed the Mako down, Joker radioed down, "_Hey Commander, I found a suitable landing spot for the Normandy next to the ghost town you are entering, give me the word and I'll set her down._"

"Copy that Joker, for the mean time until we know more about this Prophet keep her in the air."

"_Gotcha, Commander. Good hunting._"

As John surveyed the road ahead, he saw that the further into the town they went the narrower the road got. Eventually it would be too narrow for the wide bodied APC to go through. "All right team," John said as he parked the Mako, "We are on foot from here. The coordinates this Prophet gave us lead to the entrance of the mine about three hundred meters north of our current position. Even though this place is abandoned, keep an eye out for any sign of danger."

After getting a round of nods, the now seven member team crawled out of the APC. Once everyone was out, John used generic hand signals to get everyone into a wedge formation, with him on point. Garrus, Kaiden, and Wrex made up the left half of the wedge while Tali, Liara, and Ash made up the right. It was as tactically balanced as John could come up with given the current conditions.

With the formation figured out, the group began walking towards the mine. The entrance was visible from the main road they were on, so they all knew where they were going.

"Is anyone else getting the vibe that we should be expecting a zombie or monster to pop out?" Ash commented as they walked.

Kaiden laughed, "Yeah... This definitely feels like a ghost town... Reminds me of those pics they would show in history class of the ghost towns during the California gold rush of 1949..."

"While I don't know what a zombie is... I get the feeling that something very old is here, watching us..." Liara added.

"Cut the chatter people." John ordered, "If this meet is actually a trap then the enemy could be prepping for us."

"Some trap..." Wrex grumbled.

A few minutes of walking later and the Normandy team reached the entrance of the mine with no threats encountered, only a feeling of being watched. On its left hand side was a conveyor belt used to send the mined ore out and into waiting trucks. Those trucks would then go to a processing plant to extract the usable iron as well as any other minerals. Above its entrance, signs saying _'Warning – Hard Hat Area'_ and _'Carbon Monoxide detectors must be worn at ALL TIMES_' stood faded and proud. Thankfully the mine was large enough that even small vehicles could fit through, so there was no fear of claustrophobia setting in.

"Joker, go ahead and set down the Normandy. Have Matthews and Riley pick up the Mako, then stand guard at the mines entrance to act as a radio relay." John ordered, fully knowing that the two marines who stood guard in the CIC had never even been given a ground side posting and as green they come. Almost no one on the Normandy, besides the team with John, was trained for ground combat. Matthews and Riley were ship combat marines, trained to defend and counter attack any boarders.

_It's a risk we have to take... _John rationalized. _If this Prophet is hostile, and given he knows about Ryan and the nanosuits, there is a very real possibility that he could take out my team, and everyone on the Normandy without breaking a sweat._

"_Uh roger that Commander... Matthews and Riley will be on station in 10 minutes..._" Joker radioed back.

"Thanks Joker... Don't scratch the paint while we're in the mine..." John deadpanned. Before anyone set foot in the mine, they all took a good long look inside as if waiting for something to call out to them. "Well people... This Prophet isn't going to come out so we're going to go in..." John remarked, pulling his three-quarters helmet out, securing it and activating its head lamps. "Tali, monitor atmospheric conditions. I don't want us falling over dead to a carbon monoxide pocket." John called out as he stepped in towards the mine.

Only for Wrex to hold him back. "Wrex! What the he-"

"Boot prints... Fresh..." Wrex answered, pointing his shotgun down into the dirt. Tapping the side of a deep impression, which knocked some dirt in, showed they were recently made.

_Must be a size thirteen... Definitely not Alliance issue..._ John noted. "Good eye Wrex... Anyone else notices something off, call it out. We're going to go in staggered column so if anything down here is hostile, it can't take us all out in one shot."

No one argued, just simply murmurs of compliance. The tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife. Making sure everyone was ready, John led the way into the mile long mine.

* * *

**1 hour later**

Walking through the mine, while monotonous, was as stress filled as any battle John had been in. His eyes, even aided by his helmet lamps, tricked him into thinking there were enemies hidden behind stalactites and stalagmites based on moving shadows. With all of his N7 training, which covered infiltration and basic biotics, John was nervous. Even though he knew the rough history of Mitchell and the nanosuit, it didn't compare to getting the full story.

"Commander..." Garrus called out from his position as rear guard, "This is turning out to be a wild goose chase. Surely if this Prophet was intending on meeting us, he would have met us at the front of the mine."

"I never thought I'd do this twice in one day, but I agree with the Turian." Wrex grunted his opinion.

"Actually, Garrus and Wrex," Tali's warbling voice echoing in the mine sounded out, "The coordinates actually are for a location at the very end of the mine, not its entrance. Whoever this Prophet is must have set up a security system all along this tunnel to monitor any one coming in."

"Great," Ashley groaned. "Just when I thought this place could get any creepier, we could have triggered some booby traps!"

"Relax people..." John called out. "We're almost at the end. Another 75 meters to go, then hopefully we'll get some answers."

As John led the way to back of the mine, he found it hard to take his own order to relax. The deeper they had gone into the mine, the more John began to doubt this Prophet as well. _It could have been a Cerberus trick to get us away from the system, and reduce the likelihood of finding Mitchell ourselves..._

Finally, John's headlamps fell upon the very back of the mine. Its rear wall scorched from mining lasers and blast charges, but no Prophet. No answers to Ryan's past.

Nothing.

Even the foot prints ended right in front of the wall of stone.

"RAAAAAAAAAGH!" John yelled in rage as, with his biotics flaring, he punched the stone wall...

Only for the wall to let out a low ring, signaling its true form.

A camouflaged blast door.

"What in Spirits name..." John barely heard Garrus mutter before the fake wall began to swing out towards them revealing a doorway large enough for shipping containers to go through. The room behind the door was comparable in size to the Normandy's cargo hold, but held much more for its small space.

The right wall was lined with what seemed like hundreds of weapons from every category ever thought of. The oldest guns John saw were from the early 21st century and went on up to the weapons they currently carried! There were shotguns, pistols, sub machine guns, carbines, assault rifles, sniper rifles, heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, the list went on. It was a gun collectors heaven!

If the right wall was gun heaven, the left was tech geek nirvana. Server stacks also from the early 21st century, early tablet PCs, laptops, and every variation all the way up to the latest and greatest in omni-tools and data-terminals were scattered on a massive desk. The most impressive piece of tech though was the huge holographic display. Current models could only show video in a weird orange version of black and white with grainy quality. The display here was showing video surveillance of the tunnel they had come down AND the abandoned prefab district in perfect color and detail!

Naturally, Ash and Wrex immediately walked in awe on the right side while Tali and Kaiden went to the left. Garrus was torn between the two sides as if he didn't know which would be there longer.

John and Liara however found something else more interesting on the back wall. The left half held a cradle similar to the one Hackett had in his office when John and Mitchell were on Arcturus. The right half held some sort of tube, made out of a material John didn't recognize. As he neared it, the tube opened up automatically, splitting into four parts ready to accept him. Remembering his little incident with the Prothean Beacon, John wisely backed away, not letting his curiosity get the better of him.

"Whoever lives here certainly has quite the pad." Ash commented as she lifted up what John recognized as a SCAR. "I have only ever seen one of these in museums."

Wrex naturally was looking over the section of shotguns, his eyes stopping over what appeared to be a hybrid of a shotgun with a rifle.

"Ah yes... The Jackal..." The distinct voice everyone remembered from the comm room a few hours earlier echoed. Out of pure instinct, all seven members drew their favored weapons and turned to find what looked like a black muscled robot with a blood red visor and metal skeleton standing behind Wrex. "Fully automatic shotgun... Great if you like getting up close and personal with a couple of your favorite enemies. Only downside is that is runs through ammo rather quickly, especially in this day and age of seemingly unlimited ammo."

Upon closer inspection, John realized that Prophet was wearing a nanosuit similar to Ryan's. Comparing the two though, Ryan's was leaner and less 'bulky' in terms of muscle mass. Prophet's suit though was clearly more intimidating, standing at roughly Ryan's height and weighing as much if not more than him.

After John realized what he was looking at, he lowered his gun. "Guys, if he wanted us dead, we wouldn't have been able to set foot in the mine." As soon as John finished speaking, Prophet turned to look at him. That prompted Ash to trigger her shotguns Carnage shot and move closer to Prophet.

Even though Ash was at his back, Prophet laughed to himself. "Chief that Carnage shot wouldn't even knock me off my feet. Commander Shepard was right by the way. If I wanted you dead, I could have tripped the proximity mines in the numerous prefabs... Or I could have simply taken you out with my bare hands as you all walked up to the mine..."

That last sentence sent a chill down John's spine. Knowing now that Prophet was watching them in the prefab town perfectly unnoticed was disturbing. His infiltrator training taught him how to move with near absolute quietness including recognizing the signs of being followed. It was similar to a sixth sense to him by now, and it never alerted him while in the prefab.

The shock must have shown on John's face, as Prophet spoke again, "Don't worry Shepard... I have my suit set up right now for stealth missions."

John let that sink in before ordering the rest of the team to stand down, "Put those guns away guys..."

Everyone eyed him with some uncertainty, but Liara led the group by holstering her pistol first. Tali, Wrex, Garrus, and Kaiden followed suit with collapsing and holstering their own weapons while Ash simply brought her shotgun down.

"Now," John said as he folded his arms, "We came here for answers, and Prophet is obviously your call-sign, so who are you? Really?"

Prophet laughed again, "That would depend on who you'd ask... But I doubt you'd get anything from those people... Aside from Atlas that is."

John raised his eyebrow, "I'm pretty sure you've never seen my interrogation techniques..."

"Unless your do-anything-I-want Spectre badge brings back people who have been underground for 160 years, your interviewees would be very limited." Prophet shot back.

"Please," Liara said stepping forward, "You said that you had answers for us about Ryan..."

John could have sworn that he saw Prophet do a double take when he looked at Liara. It was nearly imperceptible due to the mask, so John wrote it off as Prophet walked past him to the cradle and sat down. As soon as his huge suited form was fully seated, the large holographic display on the left wall activated, a huge scroll of what appeared to be a complicated computing language going up it before a video began playing.

"I hope you guys are ready for a wild ride..." Prophet warned.

* * *

**A/N: One section down, several more to go! Like I said, a LOT of ground's going to be covered! A final note. I have decided to move my update notifications to Twitter. Look for 'Ryan Mitchell' or 'Mitchell_DN7' (or use this minus the spaces twitter . com /#!/ Mitchell_DN7) if you'd like to keep up to date on all of my fics, ask me any questions, or just chat! Keep in mind, I've never used Twitter before, so it might take me a bit to respond to any tweets.**


	16. Deadman Walking, Part II

**ME:TUH **

**Chapter 15.2 Deadman Walking**

**(FF chapter 16)**

* * *

**A/N: For those of you who have read the Crysis Comic by IDW and EA, this section will cover some of the same material. THIS IS NOT A SECTION TO SKIP HOWEVER! This section will be a little weaker in the beginning because comics are a medium that is hard to put entirely into words. **

**While working out the Crysis time line, there were numerous things that did not click, and to make it all work, I came up with this interpretation of the events before Crysis 1. If you have questions/concerns about my interpretation, feel free to leave them in a review, a PM, or whatever medium you prefer. Enjoy**

* * *

**March 2017**

**Central America**

In the never ending war on drugs, the United States Central Intelligence Agency reigned supreme in manipulating the various drug lords. Utilizing every trick in the book, the CIA field agents found that the drug lords weren't just making their money from drugs, but from legal crops like cocoa.

Soon cocoa and other cash crops became justifications for killing anyone who grew cocoa, knew someone who did, or even lived next to someone who did.

It wasn't just the drug lords doing the killing either.

As an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter flew overhead, its miniguns and rockets killing a small village, a tall well-built black man, with two Latinos on his flanks, wearing dark green cotton shirts and light weight pants walked through the burning village, killing those who were still alive with either shotgun blasts or AK-74 rifle fire.

"SIR! Major Barnes, sir!" A black suit, white shirt, black tie, sun glass wearing man shouted out. Even in the heat of the tropical country, the man didn't ooze a single drop of sweat. "Good result sir. Some of these guys were farm labor organizers. Cocoa Growers' League... Positive I.D. links with the Bolivians and everything." The man continued, not suspecting anything from the Delta Force Major he was talking to, "We scored **big** here sir. We-"

He was cut off with swift uppercut from the butt of Major Barnes shotgun, knocking him out cold. Another agent in area saw what happened, and immediately pulled his pistol.

"Sir, you need to step awa-"

The poor bastard didn't even know what was coming, and was knocked out in short order as well.

The other hired guns for the CIA agents all stopped what they were doing, and looked at Major Barnes. After a brief silence, Barnes yelled out "You got a **motherfucking **problem with that, **ANYBODY?**"

Another brief pause washed over the men, before two spoke up.

"Dejalo, man."

"'Ta loco, hijo puta."

To which Barnes replied "I didn't think so."

* * *

**One week later**

**Panama**

Inside a US military compound, which was manned by only a few men, a man could be heard shouting plain as day.

"You soldier, are in a world of shit!" Inside the main building of the compound Colonel Norman West, who was on loan to the CIA from the NSA, was giving Major Barnes the fifth degree in his office. "You have embarrassed this command in front of our friends and allies, and in front of my superiors. You've jeopardized a bold and daring strike against the enemy in our war on drugs."

West got up from his desk walked over to the window, "And you assaulted two accredited CIA Special Advisers in the pursuance of their duties. You put them both in the hospital, Barnes. One of them's going to be eating through a straw for months. The other..." The colonel walked behind Major Barnes and continued in a whisper, "The other's father is a close, **personal **friend. And now I got to go tell him his son may be permanently brain damaged from what you did to him."

With that the colonel walked back over to his chair and sat back down. "I hope you like what you see when you look in the mirror soldier."

Maintaining his cool, Major Barnes simply replied, "I like it better than what I'm looking at right now."

That simple statement caused West to reach over the table and grab Barnes by his shirt. "You're going to do hard time in Leavenworth for this you insubordinate piece of shit! That's a personal promis-"

Before the colonel could finish, Prophet took the chance to flip the table that separated him and West over, causing West to stumble back. As he did, Barnes wound up a left hook. When it connected with West's jaw, the extra force from the punch caused a sickening _fwhump_ to come from the colonel's back and floor.

As Barnes looked down on the dazed colonel, he replied to the earlier threat. "If I'm going to Leavenworth, I might as well _**really**_ earn it!" As he said that he stomped onto Wests head.

* * *

**April 2017**

**Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary**

As Laurence Barnes sat in an eight by fourteen cell, he received an unexpected visitor.

"Major Barnes? My name is Crook. I'm an attorney. I have some papers for you to sign."

Barnes looked at the sharply dressed man for a second before asking, "What for?"

Crook smiled, "Your life back."

A few hours and three signatures later, Laurence Barnes was in a limo heading towards New York with Crook.

"So," Barnes asked, "I assume now that I'm out of that cell, I'm not exactly free."

"I'll leave it to Mr. Hargreave to explain the fine details of the matter to you..." Crook replied. Soon after the window that separated the driver from the occupants turned into a video of an elderly gentleman sitting in a plane.

"Major Barnes, permit me to introduce myself. I am Jacob Hargreave. Please don't bother to thank me yet for your return to liberty. I have a return favor to ask that you may not like." Hargreave started, correctly reading Barnes own thoughts.

"Yeah... I figured there'd be something..." Barnes mumbled.

"And you were correct," Hargreave continued, "Now Major Barnes, the world is changing and some of us are going to have change with it. We have enemies now Major Barnes... Powerful and unsuspected."

* * *

**A few days later**

**Hargreave & Rasch Corporation 'Prism' Building**

"I must apologize for not being there in person Major Barnes. There are matters currently arising in north-east Asia that require my immediate attention. I'm afraid your briefing today will have to be on the fly." Hargreave calmly stated, his image being, apparently, broadcasted from his private jet yet again to Prophet sitting at a very large wooden desk. The video screen was behind the desk and above a very large map of the world, which matched the desk with an old world style feel.

"Tell me, Major... Do you believe in extra-terrestrials?"

Hargreave's question through Barnes for a loop, but he quickly recovered. "No sir, I do not."

"Interesting... And your rationale for this lack of belief is?"

"Bertrand Russell's teapot, sir" Barnes replied simply, referring to the philosopher's idea that the burden of proof lies upon a person making unfalsifiable claims. To explain this, Russell used the idea that if he claimed a teapot was orbiting the sun between the Earth and Mars, it would be absurd for him to expect others to believe him simply because they couldn't prove there _wasn't _a teapot between the two planets.

"Ah..." Hargreave sighed.

"Added to which," Barnes continued, while pouring himself some whiskey from an unlabeled glass snifter, "I'd say we have to worry about with what's happening on this planet, never mind any others."

Hargreave's expression seemed to warm up, if at all possible. "Very good, yes... As a species we are our own worst enemy. No invaders from outer space need apply...

We produce and consume vastly beyond our needs...

Build glittering palaces to our greed the world over...

Congratulate ourselves on our global vision...

And meanwhile the Amazon burns...

The Sahara is on the march...

And the oceans are on the rise.

We take refuge behind billion dollar flood barriers and barbed wire boarders.

And we go on slash-and-burning finite resources for whatever we need whether we actually need it or not.

We fish the seas empty, then fill them with toxic waste

Whole nations dry up and blow away. Or drown.

Or go to war over water.

Their peoples come begging on our doors and we wonder why the chaos seeps in... Rioting, panic, emergency powers, martial law...

You're quite right. In these troubled times, who needs alien invaders?" Hargreave lectured Barnes, who already knew and experienced most of what Hargreave described. "Nevertheless, Major... They exist and you are going to learn how to fight them. Ah... Nathan, perfect timing."

Barnes looked over his shoulder as soon as he heard the huge double doors to Hargreave's office open. Coming in was what could only be described as a new age hippie. Wearing rectangular glasses, long hair, and unshaven for probably a solid week, this new guy piped up, "We're ready sir. Nano-weave cultures are all installed. The chassis' powering up."

"Excellent." Hargreave stated enthusiastically, "Major Barnes, this is Doctor Nathan Gould. He'll be your technical liaison for the foreseeable future."

Gould held out his hand, "Pleased to meet you Major."

Barnes got up from his chair, "Likewise," he replied as he shook the apparent scientists hand firmly, "Uh... Nano-weave?"

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

A few minutes and security checkpoints later and Gould led Major Barnes to a huge lab. There was some machine turning out a steel colored cloth sheet, which further down the line was being rolled up and cut.

Gould went over to a work table and picked up a chunk of the cloth that was cut and ready to be used for something. "I guess I don't have to tell you, Major Barnes, what you're seeing here is classified at levels even Congress don't know about. Everyone on the Nano-shell project was handpicked by Mr. Hargreave for personal trust. No leaks. No disclosure. It's like this stuff doesn't even exist. Like _**we**_don't exist!" Gould paused for a second for effect, "Cool, huh?" Barnes gave him a raised eyebrow and said nothing. "Well, I suppose you're used to that sort of thing. But man, I cannot wait till we roll you out in this stuff. The PACOM commander is gonna shit when he sees you!"

"PACOM, huh?" Barnes grunted, "So this is going to be a Pacific deployment?"

"Yeah looks that w-, ahh" Gould stopped in his tracks, realizing what he did, "Well, that's actually uhm..."

"Classified at levels even Congress don't know about?" Barnes grinned, and laughed "Right, got it." Gould didn't seem to appreciate the Majors sense of humor. "C'mon man, I'm only fucking with you... By the way, you don't have to call me Major Barnes all the time."

Gould seemed to lighten up, "What should I call you then?"

"My call sign," Barnes shrugged, "Prophet. Anyway, let me see this stuff." 'Prophet' reached for the material to see and feel it for himself. "It's like silk but... Cold..." He lifted more of the material with his hands to get a feel for the weight. "Heavy too. You saying I'm going to wear this stuff? Over my whole body?" Prophet asked in disbelief. Delta Force operatives generally didn't wear much armor in favor of being more mobile on the battlefield.

"Well actually it isn't quite that simple." Gould started walking over to a screen, which showed some kind of robotic skeleton, with sections of what appeared to be muscle being filled in. "These are just the sheets we make the suit muscle from. They have to be precision furled and fine-tuned for response, and then hung on an incredibly durable alloy frame chassis for integrity loading. After that, they'll form an integrated protective layer against your skin, a system that actually responds to your body's biochemical signals in real time. So, technically, wear is probably the wrong word..."

After Gould finished his lecture, which thoroughly shocked Prophet, the Delta Force operative asked, "Yeah? So what's the right word? _Technically_?"

"Uh... I really don't..." Gould stammered, "Bond with, maybe? But honestly Maj- Prophet, I wouldn't sweat this stuff. Once you're in this suit, words like heavy are going to seem like a distant memory. Going to be like... I don't know, man... Like a trip, like a dream of power."

* * *

**June 2017**

**Classified US Special Forces Training Camp**

**Code Named 'Groom Lake'**

As Prophet looked over the group of forty men from his observation post, he could hardly believe the extraordinary talent being displayed. Hargreave had managed to get Prophet back into Delta Force, mainly through the nanosuit demonstration given to JSOC.

Once the funding had been allocated, CryNet received an order for three sets of five nanosuits for JSOC to begin in-field trials, which included Prophet and his suit. Raptor, Eagle, and Hawk teams would be the first, and hopefully not the last, nanosuit special operations teams. Prophet was here to lead the selection of four others for Raptor team.

While most of the men were Delta Force operatives, there were a few Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, and even an Air Force Spec Ops. All of them had distinguished themselves in the line of duty and beyond, but after reviewing not only their official files, but top secret ones as well, Prophet had his eyes on five in particular. Harold 'Aztec' Cortez, Micheal 'Psycho' Sykes, Martin 'Jester' Hawker, Jake 'Nomad' Dunn, and Ryan Mitchell.

Ryan Mitchell was the odd ball Air Force Spec Op, being a Combat Controller and Pararescue-man. Even though others of the same training were viewed as not being as cloak and dagger like Delta, Mitchell was the exception. Mitchell was well known throughout the black ops community for his knack of managing to pulling off missions no matter what. It also helped that he didn't have the typical Air Force 'zoomie' attitude that other Air Force SF's had, making him easy to work with.

Aztec, Psycho, Jester, and Nomad though all had experience working with each other, but to be fair Prophet had all of the participants split into groups that none of them had ever worked with for sparring matches, team work exercises, and the usual strength and endurance tests.

* * *

**Several Hours Later**

"Hey Prophet," Gould shouted down the hall Prophet was walking down, heading to the next testing area. "Wait up."

As Prophet waited for the unusual scientist to catch up, he laughed. Over the past couple weeks since their first meeting, Gould had sort of grown onto the Delta Force Major. Even with their differing backgrounds, Gould and Prophet both managed to bond over the nanosuits technological achievements and Hargreave's assertions of there being alien life on Earth.

"What's up Gould?"

"The five guys you said you had your eyes on? They are leading the trials. Their marksmanship were top of the line, they are in peak physical condition, and they are able to coordinate with others on various objectives with great success. The only trials left for today are the sparring matches."

Prophet grinned, "Excellent... Let's get going Gould, those sparring matches are currently under way."

"Right, of course..." Gould replied.

The duo entered the 'dojo' as the normal staff of 'Groom Lake' called it. It's floor was made of a specialized material to help soften impacts during sparring and lessen the chance of injuries. Currently there were five groups of one on one matches going on, coincidentally Aztec, Psycho, Jester, Nomad, and Mitchell were all fighting against separate opponents.

The other Delta operatives, SEALs, and Rangers never knew what hit them. The judges who scored the matches consistently scored the five men very high even after they moved on to multiple on one scenarios.

By the end of the training session, Gould, Prophet, and the other CryNet evaluators had narrowed down the field of forty down to twenty. The twenty who weren't selected for the next round were sent home, while the 'finalists' were allowed to rest as Jacob Hargreave himself reviewed the data.

When the data complied Hargreave was pleased with the resulting candidates for the nanosuit program. He personally set up the next round of tests, to be sure the next fourteen nanosuit wearers would be fully qualified.

* * *

**The Next Day**

At the break of dawn, the remaining trainees were already under way with the next phase of testing, live fire exercises. The exercises pitted teams of five against each other, and yet again Aztec, Jester, Nomad, Psycho, and Mitchell were all in different groups. The exercises went very well for every team, but Hargreave had something else in mind to test these men.

The final testing would involve yet another sparring match, first against a fellow trainee then immediately followed by a match against Prophet in his nanosuit. As much as Prophet didn't like the idea, he understood the reasoning behind Hargreave's decision.

The matches here were decided at random, and the first one was Nomad against Mitchell. While the two of them prepped, Prophet quickly got into his suit in a side room off of the 'dojo'. When he entered, everyone in the room was visibly stunned at the armor, wondering what on earth it could do. Mitchell and Nomad though quickly regained their wits and focused back on their sparring match.

They each got into their fighting stances, Nomad taking up the typical boxing stance while Mitchell used a variant of some Kung Fu stance Prophet didn't recognize. Nomad threw the first punch, a straight punch at Mitchell's head, which was parried and followed up with a leg sweep. Nomad lept over it easily, and with Mitchell busy finishing the sweep, managed to get behind him. Before Nomad could get Mitchell into a head lock, Mitchell rolled forwards to get away from Nomad's grab. Nomad used the opportunity to wind up a stepping round house. Mitchell barely had time to guard against the swift kick by using his arms as he got back up from the roll. Hooking the arm he used to block the roundhouse around Nomad's leg, Mitchell used his weight against Nomad and leaned into him. Nomad was forced onto his back, and doing so managed to use his other leg to flip Mitchell over his head.

The two of them scrambled to get back up on their feet and back into their stances. After a brief pause, Mitchell opened up with what appeared to be a jumping side kick, Nomad had other ideas though. Side stepping the kick, Nomad grabbed Mitchell's right leg as it passed by him and using the momentum Mitchell had provided proceeded to shoulder throw him.

As he did, a sickening _C-C-C-CRACK _was heard from Mitchell's leg as its lower half was twisted in a way it wasn't supposed to. Mitchell didn't scream or cry out in pain, but let Nomad finish his throw. As Mitchell hit the ground, he used his one good leg to force Nomad down to the ground as well. Mitchell managed to get himself into position to start grappling with Nomad, but the whistle blew before they could continue.

One of the judges stepped in and separated Nomad and Mitchell from each other. He took a quick look at Mitchell's leg, and waved over the medical team. Carrying a stretcher they set it down next to Mitchell who began to protest.

"What are you doing? I can still continue!" He shouted at the medics who were trying to get him on the stretcher.

The judge who came over shook his head, "No son, you have at the very minimum torn some muscle tissues in your knee. Can you move your toes for me?" Mitchell managed to do as asked. "How about your ankle?" That was met with a groan in pain before it only moved few inches in either direction. The judged shook his head, "Hmph, just as I thought. You probably dislocated your knee, we won't know what else until we get you into the MRI." The judge stood up, went over to Nomad. "Nomad is the winner of this match by injury, you have 2 minutes of prep before you go against Prophet."

Nomad didn't look all that enthused with the declaration, and went over to Mitchell on the stretcher. "Hey man, I'm sorry... Had I known..."

Before Mitchell was carried away, he clasped Nomad's shoulder. "Don't worry about it... Considering the shit I've been through I'm surprised I haven't gotten hurt earlier... Just do me a favor and show the rest of these pansies whose boss."

Nomad smiled as the Air Force Spec Op was taken away by the medics. As Prophet watched the scene unfold, he knew who he was going to have on Raptor team. Now it was just a matter of seeing how well they would adjust to the suits.

* * *

The video feed from the holographic display cut to black, causing all of the Normandy's team to turn to Prophet.

"What's going on?" John asked.

"Nothing, all of that was leading up to the Ling Shan incident." Prophet answered somberly. "That's when everything went downhill..."

* * *

**A/N: This section by itself could be expanded further into a full blown story, covering operations Raptor team did befor****e, etc etc. I may very well do so in the future, but I've held on to this long enough.**

** Coming tomorrow, Ling Shan (the actual start of Crysis) and the Crysis Comic!**


	17. Deadman Walking, Part III

**ME:TUH**

**Chapter 15.3 : Dead Men Walking**

**(Chapter 17 on FF)**

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about the delay folks. FF wouldn't let me access the Doc Manager page for a full 10 hours. The plus side is that you get the entirety of what I have for the 'Deadman Walking' Arc!**

**The following is an extreme summary of the events of the first Crysis game. There are more elements than I could possibly hope to get into this one chapter so I URGE you to play the game, whether it be on PC or on console. The same goes for Crysis Warhead and Crysis 2. **

**THIS CHAPTER CAN BE SKIPPED IF YOU'VE PLAYED CRYSIS! While some of you may argue and ask why I even bothered to put this is, it's mainly because it is a section worth being recapped for ME:TUH in the long run.**

* * *

**Ling Shan Archipelago**

**August 16****th****, 2020**

What was supposed to be a standard search and rescue operation had turned into nothing but a clusterfuck. They were to locate and evacuate civilians that were a part of Doctor Rosenthal's archaeologist team, who were currently under guard by the North Korean People's Army (KPA).

Raptor Team had been inserted on the island two days earlier on the 14th, and less than an hour into the operation, they had lost Aztec to some unknown entity which tore into his body. Even the nanosuit was heavily damaged. After using Aztec's suit vaporization fail safe, the rest of the Raptor team continued onward.

After Nomad managed to sneak into a comms trailer, the team learned that the KPA had begun evacuating all the civilians on the 7th and had completed it in a matter of days under the leadership of General Kyong who led the KPA Special Forces. Shortly after Nomad's raid, Raptor team had found the location of the distress signal.

It was coming from the boat, _Lusca's Call_, which had somehow ended up **on** the island. The boat and its surrounding area were covered in a deep frost that was impossible to have occurred naturally. After finding some intel on where Rosenthal's dig site was, Jester was swept up by some flying machine and dragged off.

After chasing the thing down, Prophet, Psycho and Nomad were the remaining members of Raptor team with the strange machine having killed Jester the same way Aztec was. After vaporizing Jester and his nanosuit, Raptor team found another KPA comms station and learned of a civilian being held in a nearby village and was being interrogated.

Psycho and Nomad managed to take care of the KPA forces in the village and rescued the civilian who revealed that she was a CIA operative spying on Rosenthal. Even though she didn't know what it was exactly Rosenthal was looking into, the fact that the fossils began emitting signals to a bigger find in the mine only meant more trouble.

While Psycho got the CIA operative to an exfil point, Nomad took out a pair of tanks and some infantry on his way to meet up with Prophet who had already begun moving towards the first dig site. Evading several patrols, one of which got slaughtered by something that used what looked like a freeze ray, Nomad met up with Prophet.

As the two Delta operatives made their way through a cave system, Prophet revealed that he knew there was an insider on Rosenthal's team, but didn't think it was important for the rest of the team to know. Given recent events, whatever it was that Rosenthal found it was most definitely could not end up in the North Korean's hands.

Shortly after Prophet and Nomad made it out of the cave system, their link to JSOC was once again jammed. As the two of them began their search to find it's source, Prophet was swept up by the same creature that took Jester.

After Nomad gave chase unsuccessfully, he received word from Major Strickland on the _Constitution_ that Prophet's vitals and suit signals went dark. After assuring the Major that he could still complete the mission, Strickland gave Nomad orders to knock out the second jammer and continue on to the dig site.

The closer that Nomad got closer to the dig site, KPA patrols increased and their equipment significantly improved. Instead of crappy FY71 rifles and little body armor, the KPA he was encountering carried sub-machine guns with laser sights and body armor that was equivalent to the standard US Armed Combat Uniform (thick Kevlar vest with ceramic plating in front and back along with Kevlar helmet). Thankfully, night was falling and combined with the nanosuits cloaking Nomad was able to dispatch nearly every single KPA without others nearby signaling for help.

By the time Nomad reached the primary dig site and eliminated all KPA resistance in the camp, it was the dead of night. The dig site was covered in a dome structure, presumably to protect the 'artifacts', and Nomad quietly snuck in. As soon as he opened the door, he saw a large video screen displaying General Kyong and a brunette behind him in the background. Below Nomad was Rosenthal who was by a computer and talking with Kyong, arguing about which dig site was more important. Next to Rosenthal encased in the rock was what looked like a giant mechanical squid. It had an enlarged head for its main body and six long tentacle arms.

Just as Rosenthal said something about a scan complete and shouting "They're alive!", Nomad's nanosuit went on the fritz, disabling his cloak as well as cutting the video feed. There was a large hum, and the last thing Nomad heard from Rosenthal was "What have I done?".

When Nomad got back up, he found the entire 'dig-site' frozen solid. Rosenthal and three KPA troopers who must have come in to investigate the disturbance all shattered when Nomad accidentally brushed up against them.

With Rosenthal dead and the KPA stronghold known, Strickland ordered Nomad to head down the river that ran by the dig site to a clearing for a VTOL pickup. After quickly making his way past a large KPA patrol, Nomad ran into some trouble with a KPA helicopter. It's thermal cameras could beat the suits cloaking systems, and was able to keep up with Nomad while in speed mode. After surprising a KPA soldier, Nomad took said soldiers missile launcher and quickly took down the helicopter.

Rather than risk taking a boat down the river, Nomad decided to use the current and the nanosuits speed mode to quickly make his way down it. After he got as close as he could to the pickup zone, Nomad left the river and continued on foot to the clearing.

The first thing he noticed was that the clearing was an old graveyard. The second thing he noticed was that it was too quiet to be normal. After the VTOL did a quick sweep of the area, their thermal sensors showed that there were hostiles in the area. Only after Nomad went into cloak mode and used his built in binoculars did he notice the slight shimmering effect of a nanosuits cloak.

After playing a game of cat and mouse with the KPA nanosuit team, Nomad came out on top and signaled for the VTOL to land. When it opened it held four Marines and Psycho. They were heading towards the island's harbor to help the assault on the island.

When they got near a ridge that overlooked the harbor area, Strickland ordered Nomad and Psycho to take out some anti-air batteries that were annihilating the F-35's flying in the area trying to fly ground support. Psycho took up high ground to give Nomad sniper support as he made his way to the first AA gun.

With some well-placed grenades, Nomad managed to take out the AA gun and its security detail which were stationed on a bridge that led to the harbor. Crossing the bridge, Nomad was forced to borrow another missile launcher to take down a KPA helicopter. As it fell to its doom, it happened to land on the other AA battery which was situated on a small peninsula near the harbor.

With two down and the sun working its way higher into the sky, the KPA activated their last line of defense; one more AA gun and an anchored cruisers EM warfare suite. After hacking into a KPA comms booth, Nomad found the location of some heavy explosives in a warehouse. After sneaking his way past most of KPA in the harbor, Nomad got word from Psycho that he had moved into a sniping position in the harbor to provide support.

Going guns blazing, Nomad plowed his way through the KPA between him and the last AA gun. With Psycho covering him, Nomad placed the explosives on the AA battery and quickly sped away before blowing the AA gun to smithereens.

Before Nomad could take down the cruiser, another helicopter rose over the mountains that surrounded the harbor and gunned straight for him. Seeing a stack of rocket launchers nearby, Nomad dove to the closest one. The helicopters miniguns chewed away at his suit, even with armor mode engaged he wouldn't last long. Rolling to a shipping container for cover, Nomad prepped the launcher and waited for the opportunity to strike. As the chopper swung around to take another shot, Nomad unleashed two rockets, causing it to blow up in midair.

With air support gone for the remaining KPA, Psycho and Nomad were able to take them down before Nomad hopped onto the cruiser. Once on board Nomad disabled the cruiser's EM suite, which allowed him to jump back off and paint it for an air strike. Less than a minute later, the roar of an F-35's engine could be heard as it came in for the kill. One missile to the ship's hull, near the waterline, was all it took to put it out of commission.

Strickland then informed Nomad and Psycho to meet up by the tunnel entrance behind the harbors warehouses, where heavy VTOL's would be landing tanks for a full on assault on the KPA position in the valley ahead and by the mine.

Three VTOL's swooped in, one carrying an experimental M5A2 Atlas tank with a Gauss cannon. The other two tanks, a M5 and a M5A1, both used the traditional style 125mm HEAT round in their guns. Once the VTOL's took back off, Major Strickland popped up from the M5A2 and gave Psycho new orders from JSOC while telling Nomad to take control of one of the other tanks to go give the KPA 'an Idaho welcome'.

As the three tanks moved through the tunnel, another three VTOL's dropped off tanks for the assault. Thankfully, Nomad's nanosuit allowed him to drive, aim, and fire the tank by himself while he had a marine trooper in the commander's chair manning the machine gun and acting as spotter. Once all six tanks made it through the tunnel, Strickland received word that the armor column would not have any air support, making taking out rocket armed infantry that much harder. Nevertheless they pushed on, the initial four KPA tanks succumbing quickly to the combined fire of a Gauss cannon and five 125mm HEAT shells. As they pushed on, KPA infantry armed with rocket launchers began taking potshots at the tanks. Two rockets got lucky disabling two tanks by destroying their treads, while a third rocket hit Nomad's tank, causing minimal damage.

As the US tanks pushed forwards, the KPA regrouped at an ammo and train depot. Using the tank cannons would have been too much firepower, so Nomad got out and cleared the area of KPA while his spotter covered him the best he could.

With the depot cleared, the only thing in the way now was a train loaded with ammo. After Nomad climbed back into his tank, he fired a round at the second car, which caused the entire train (but not the engine) to go up in flames. Driving on through, the tank column was greeted with more tanks and light armor. Those light armor vehicles were really Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV's), and normally wouldn't be used in heavy armor combat. However when combined with more rocket equipped troopers, those did in another two tanks from the US side.

While all of this was going on, what seemed like a loud roar combined with an earthquake took place. The islands central mountain suddenly began a huge rock slide as whatever it was underneath began to reveal itself.

As the column moved past the final line of tank defense, Strickland received word that they had air support standing by, but three AA emplacements had to be taken out. Nomad swiftly took them out and in the process spotted another munitions dump; a prime target to weaken the KPA further.

A lone F-35 flew in and let a single gravity bomb drop, which in turn hit the dump head on, causing another large explosion. With the mine finally within their grasp Nomad took his tank down the road not spotting a pair of rocket wielding troopers. Their two rockets were aimed right where the turret frame met the rest of the chassis, and promptly disabled the tank. Nomad and his marine spotter quickly bailed before another salvo could be launched. Before it could be, a VTOL flew in and used its chin mounted gun to take care of the problem. The VTOL continued to land, and Strickland told Nomad to grab a Gauss Rifle from its weapons compartment.

The Gauss Rifle, essentially an overpowered sniper rifle, is capable of taking down tanks with the correct aim. Nomad took the opportunity to grab the rifle and stock up on ammo for his SCAR before the final assault on the mine. Once he had his gear in place, Nomad used the suit's speed mode to continue down the road to the mine, only to discover that the road was heavily tore up and was impassable by Strickland's tank.

Forging ahead, Nomad found another KPA compound that used to be the mines headquarters. After cloaking and sneaking his way inside, he once again hacked into the KPA battlefield network and learned that General Kyong was definitely inside the mine with Rosenthal's daughter. Carefully making his way past the guards, Nomad got back out of the building and proceeded down to the mine refinery. Strickland wanted to land some VTOL's, but the area was covered in KPA including three nanosuited operatives. With mini-guns, sniper rifles, shot guns, and assault rifles all aimed at him Nomad put the Gauss Rifle to work. Quickly putting down the nanosuited KPA soldiers, Nomad had some breathing room to use his scar and sniper scope to wither down the remaining soldiers.

After a drawn out fire fight, Nomad finally cleared the refinery and two VTOL's dropped off Marines and ammo crates to help secure the area and assist Nomad as he continued on down to the quarry which held the mines entrance. As he descended, there was another roar and earthquake. When Nomad looked to the mountain, the same things that had grabbed Prophet and Jester were flying around and attacking the KPA. Using the opportunity, Nomad moved quickly through the raging battle to get to the mines entrance. After blowing his way through another KPA defensive line, which included four more nanosuited soldiers, Nomad was finally in the mine.

The mine was practically empty, and as Nomad made his way through it became increasing unstable. After dodging falling boulders and jumping over some chasms, Nomad finally found where General Kyong and this 'temple' were. After spying on Kyong argue with Rosenthal's daughter about why they should or shouldn't be opening it, Nomad felt someone grip his shoulder. As he turned to look, a KPA nanosuit operative punched him in face knocking him out.

When Nomad woke up, his HUD was out of whack, and he was being held securely on either side by a KPA nanosuit. Kyong then went on a speech about how the US wanted inside of the temple as much as he did because it was the greatest source of power on Earth. Finally triggering the last of the explosives needed to clear the way, Kyong was greeted with some sort of power surge which zapped power from the generators and his nanosuited operatives. Nomad on the other hand, had his systems restored. Grabbing on of his former captives handguns, he quickly spun back around to find Kyong staring at the light being emitted from the 'temple'. Aiming for his uncovered head, Nomad ended it quickly.

With Kyong dead, Nomad had only one objective now; Get Helena Rosenthal out. Grabbing her and getting to a lift, the two of them began their ascent. After only twenty meters, the lift was jammed. Luckily there was a VTOL in the area standing by to extract Nomad and Helena, and Nomad convinced the pilot to lower the craft into the cave. After dropping a line with a Marine to catch Helena, she jumped and barely grabbed on to the marine's hand.

Before Nomad could jump for the rope as well, a stray rock hit the VTOL and forced it to leave Nomad behind to find another way out. As Nomad began going over those possibilities in his head, the lift dropped back down, the impact knocking Nomad out.

A few minutes later, Nomad could hear the VTOL pilot calling for him. Getting back up, the nanosuit did a self-diagnostic and Nomad was presented with only one way out; Through the 'temple'. With the pilots assurance that they would circle the mountain and wait for him, Nomad gathered as much ammo as he could carry for a shotgun and a sub-machine gun before heading into the structure.

A few feet in, he felt a drastic temperature change even through his suit. The walls were irregular, like they were crystals that were placed there to grow, not rock like a mountain should be. The further in he went, he found a hatch of some sort that opened up into another cavern, except this one held a huge metal tube of some sort with windows of some sort that pulsed blue.

As Nomad examined the tube, the same creature (or one similar) that had grabbed Prophet floated down it to some sort of device that ensnared it in an energy field. At that moment Nomad felt himself become weightless! These things knew how to manipulate gravity apparently, and after orienting himself using the suits hydro thrusters, Nomad found another hatch that opened up to him.

As he explored, he felt what seemed like a current pushing him back. Using that as a guide Nomad went against the flow to find a way out. The walls were very irregular with crystal formations all over the place, with more hatches in seemingly random spots. A few times Nomad thought he spotted something out of the corner of his eye, but he pressed onward.

Following the current, Nomad found himself going up into a hatch that had a blinking light source and some sort of fog coming from it. Maneuvering himself up to it, the light in the cavern went completely dark; not even his night vision helped. Staying in somewhat the same place, Nomad waited for the lights to pop back up.

When they did, Nomad found himself staring into the face of an honest to god alien! It had a face and a jaw that seemed like the Predator species from those old movies. The alien had arms, but no legs it seemed like. What it did have looked more like a tail used for swimming.

With Nomad in shock, the alien took the opportunity to shove Nomad back and run away. Acting on instinct Nomad fired his shotgun, the barrel switched for a tighter grouping, and hit it dead on in the back. Shaking himself off from the experience, Nomad continued onward against the current until he found its source. Some sort of blower system was keeping him from moving on, even with the suits enhanced speed. Spotting what looked like a power source, a clear tube with some kind of energy current running through its center, Nomad used the shotgun to blast it. The results were immediate, the blowers shut down, allowing Nomad further access.

Beyond the blowers was something unlike Nomad had ever seen. The bottom of the cavern he was in was some sort of power conduit. Similar in appearance to the power generator he just destroyed, it seemed to be organic in origin judging by the way its outer surface flowed with powers current.

After going through some more tunnels, Nomad found himself in a very large cavern. Next to him was some sort of control console that used what appeared to be holographics, and before him on either side of the cavern were pods of some sort. The middle of the room was dominated by two machines which had three power generators like the one he blew up before. Also in room were some more of the aliens. Not taking a chance, Nomad quickly let two volleys fly from his shotgun at close range thanks to the suits cloaking.

Once the blue aliens were dead, Nomad quickly destroyed the power generators. That in turn released several more aliens, who upon seeing an unknown intruder, attacked Nomad. Switching to his sub-machine gun, Nomad let off controlled bursts at the aliens. It seemed they were a fragile to bullets as unarmored humans were as they fell quickly.

With the hostiles eliminated, Nomad took a quick survey of the room and found a hatch in floor had opened up for him. That hatch led him through several more tunnels until he reached another cavern. This one held another control console along with two pods with things from around the island floating inside. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Nomad took what he could for ammo from the pods and proceeded over to the console. The window behind it showed what appeared to be a factory of sorts.

As Nomad maneuvered through another tunnel to reach the bigger factory cavern, he noticed that the machines would periodically shield off sections as they worked building whatever it was the blue aliens needed. Timing it right, Nomad made it through unscathed.

On the other side of the cavern, Nomad was confronted with two tunnels of some sort. One would simply not let him enter, some force kept pushing him away. That only left one other option. Securing his gear, Nomad floated inside the tunnel...

And was suddenly greeted by a massive burst in speed. However the tunnel worked, it propelled him faster than even the nanosuit could manage. Perhaps a minute went by, and the tunnel ended dropping Nomad off in another cavern with several consoles active and a large window. In the center of the cavern though was a holographic projection of what could only be the structure under the mountain. The structure had several lines highlighted the same color as the assumed power conduit, all emanating from the center.

After Nomad got a good look at the hologram, something by the window drew his attention. As he floated over, he saw what could only be described as an invasion army. Several of the 'flying-squids' that took Prophet could be seen floating around along with an even bigger four legged walker. Behind them though was a huge collection of the conduits. If the hologram was anything to go by, the actual power source was massive compared to the junction.

As Nomad began looking for a way out, several more of the blue aliens attacked him. Using a combination of cloak and speed mode, they too were quickly dispatched. This group differed in their attack in that they seemed to fire icicles from their wrists. Not questioning how, Nomad continued on as a large door opened up to the side, and he went through.

On the other side he was greeted with the largest cavern yet. On a display console near him, a hologram was steadily changing shapes like a countdown clock. When it turned orange, an alarm began going off. The lights, wherever they were coming from, cut out again. Night vision helped but not by much.

Turning around, Nomad was once again greeted with a close up of the aliens. A knee-jerk reaction caused Nomad to use strength mode to sucker punch the creature, killing it instantly. Several more aliens popped out from some unknown hiding place and began to attack Nomad. Dodging their icicle-fire and ramming attacks, Nomad used the shotgun to great effect taking them down.

As Nomad continued his killing spree, machines throughout the cavern began lighting up, energy sparking between them and gradually working its way to the other end of the cavern. By the time Nomad finished, the energy had reached the other large door. With his ears still ringing slightly from firing the shotgun, Nomad could barely hear the VTOL pilot from earlier say something about reacquiring his transponder beacon.

Before Nomad could say anything, he felt the force of gravity return slowly and maneuvered himself to land on a platform that lead to the base of the giant door. By the time he touched down, gravity was back to normal and the door began opening.

Daylight revealed, Nomad jogged outside and saw one of the islands many valleys, torn up by the mountains upheaval, spread out before him. A second later and the VTOL carrying Helena came into view, ready to pick Nomad up. Fate though had other plans, as some sort of energy wave surged out of the structure inside. The wave flash froze the ground around Nomad, who was sent flying to the edge of the cavern's mouth, and caused the VTOL to go out of control. As Nomad picked himself up, he saw several of the flying-squids come out of the cavern along with smaller versions of them.

With the immediate wave on their way, Nomad began working his way down the mountain. Major Strickland managed to get in contact with Nomad and asked for a sitrep. Nomad, not knowing what happened and how, simply said it was beyond cold. Cold enough for nothing human to survive.

Taking it in-stride, Strickland ordered Nomad to get out of the energy sphere to an extraction point near his location. Using the nanosuit to its full abilities, traversing the rough terrain of the valley was not that difficult. What was were the miniature floating squids that the big ones dropped off. These guys used the same icicle weapon as the creatures inside the mountain, but were able to take three or four shotgun blasts before succumbing and exploding.

With several squads of the small ones taken down, Nomad came across a group of Marines who were frozen solid. After radioing their status to Strickland, who had lost two platoons to the energy sphere's creation alone, Nomad was greeted by another squad of the little squids.

As he readied his shotgun, another line of icicles came from above Nomad and to the left, destroying the lead squid. As Nomad looked up, he saw a nanosuited figure jumping down carrying a large alien looking weapon of some kind. Not believing who it could be, the voice that greeted him confirmed it was Prophet!

The combined firepower of Prophet and Nomad took down several waves of the little squids before Prophet revealed that his suit core temperature regulator was damaged. Making a beeline for the nearest burning debris, Prophet managed to warm up enough to continue playing leap frog to get out of the sphere.

Once out of the sphere, Prophet and Nomad linked up with a squad of marines who were waiting on them. Before they could leave, they had to fight off another wave of both the little squids and big ones. The fight went much better than the ones inside the sphere had, thanks largely to a spare Gauss Rifle Nomad found.

Taking the opportunity a lull in the action provided, the Marines and Prophet and Nomad piled into humvees to make for the extraction point a couple clicks down the road. As they drove down the mountain pass, a VTOL came under fire by the big squids and crashed nearby. Nomad and Prophet heard Helena's voice over the radio and immediately went to go get her and any survivors.

Once they reached the crash zone, Nomad used a KPA AA battery to keep the big squids at bay while Prophet freed Helena and the other survivors. As they waited for another VTOL to land, Nomad was forced to get out from the AA battery before a big squid crashed into it. Thankfully, a VTOL landed but with only room for Helena and one other. Nomad volunteered to hoof it to the evac zone while Prophet got Helena to the _Constitution_.

As soon as the VTOL took off, the four legged mech Nomad saw in the mountain structure made an appearance. All the marines still by the crash site began opening fire with rocket launchers, grenade launchers, Gauss rifles, everything they had and it wouldn't go down. Strickland ordered Nomad to get back to the extraction point so that the data his suit gathered wouldn't be lost.

Speed mode got Nomad there quickly, and just in time to use another KPA AA battery to fend off more of the big squids from attacking the remaining VTOL's. The marines at the crash site were still reporting that the mech wasn't taking any damage and was still advancing.

Just as Nomad's AA gun ran out of bullets and missiles, Strickland ordered Nomad to get to the last VTOL. As Nomad got out, he could see the mech making its way towards the extraction point. When Nomad boarded the VTOL, the one next to them exploded from a big squid falling on to it. Strickland then, instead of joining Nomad on the VTOL, told the pilot to take off while he drew the mechs fire. The mech was well within firing range of whatever freeze ray or energy weapon it used, but with Strickland firing at it with a humvee's .50 cal turret, it bought the VTOL pilot enough time to launch and get out of range.

With the VTOL clear of the extraction zone, the pilot still had to deal with the numerous enemy bogeys flying around as well as the sudden weather changes brought on by the ice sphere's formation. Without warning, a group of the squids attacked the VTOL forcing Nomad to open the rear hatch to return fire. Somehow the pilot was killed, and acting quickly Nomad got into the cockpit and stabilized the VTOL. While the primary thrusters were offline, the secondary's were good to go. The _Constitution's_ Air Traffic Controller guided Nomad to a group of VTOL's making their way back and told him to simply follow them as they made their final pickups.

Learning on the fly, Nomad quickly found that VTOL's were **not** meant to fly air combat missions. Their mini guns and rockets, more geared for ground support, were more difficult to target against the agile squids as he aided the VTOL group in their final two pickups before flying out to the carrier.

Once on board the carrier, the sun was setting and Nomad was greeted by Psycho and Helena. Psycho had somehow managed to get one of the big squids on board the ship, a story which Nomad was going to ask for later. After getting word that Admiral Morrison wanted to see Nomad and Helena in the CDC, Psycho led the way. In the CDC, Morrison revealed that the CIA had detected strange thermal emissions coming from the island and initially thought the KPA were testing nukes. Then a few days later they detected a microwave burst transmission directed at galaxy M33 which was over two million light years away.

Given the information sent by the video feed in Nomad's suit, the Joint Chiefs and the President authorized a nuclear strike against the threat. Helena countered saying that given prior experience with their generators and the schematic of the alien structure, the entire island had been converted into a massive power sink. Seeing no other option, Morrison went ahead with giving the order for the nuclear strike. After it was sent out, he ordered Nomad to the armory so he could sit in the cradle so JSOC could get the full data feed from the suit.

After saluting the Admiral, Nomad made his way to the armory with Helena. With several passerby commenting on the nanosuit, he and Helena managed to navigate their way through the maze of the carriers halls to find the armory. Psycho and Prophet were already there, with Prophet in the cradle chair. The armory tech had given Prophet a few tweaks to his suit as well as commenting on how it was incomprehensible how Prophet had managed to jury rig the alien weapon in the field.

With Prophet out, it was Nomad's turn to go in. As he did, Prophet grabbed the alien gun and made to leave for the island. Psycho tried to convince him that the nuke would take care of the issue, while Prophet insisted that it wouldn't do anything and pushed on through.

After the data downloaded from Nomad's suit, Helena had the tech set up the suit to emit a signal that Helena had found the aliens used when they drained power from the dig sites generators. She hoped that it would allow Nomad to become a walking weapon by overfeeding the aliens with energy when they tried to drain it from nearby power sources.

With the modification complete, Morrison called Nomad and Helena up to the bridge. As they made their way up, Morrison gave a small speech to inspire the men that the use of nuclear force was necessary and that he had confidence in them. When the got to the bridge, Morrison was yelling to the comm system for Prophet to put down a VTOL. Nomad caught a glimpse of Prophet piloting the craft before it sped away towards the island. Even after a plea from Nomad to halt the launch so he could go get his AWOL commanding officer, combined with one last 'what-if' scenario from Helena, Morrison proceeded with the launch.

The fleet was stationed twenty kilometers away from the island, so the blast could be seen without need of shades. With the signature mushroom cloud rising, the shock wave soon followed albeit not as strong as Nomad thought. However, the sphere, which was in plain sight, did not dissipate. Instead is glowed and rapidly grew to encompass nearly the entire island.

The shock wave from that was enough to cause Nomad to grip the table in front of him to steady himself. As Nomad went over the soon to be consequences of the nuclear strike in his head, the _Constitution's _radar operator began picking up enemy contacts coming from the island, all of them heading for the carrier group. Before they knew it, the squids were right on top of the carrier, it's anti-air guns doing nothing against the sheer number of targets. One of the squids got clipped by some AA fire and careened straight for the bridge.

Having been knocked out again, Nomad was awoken by Morrison's shouts to wake up along with the large amount of gun fire. After getting his bearings, Nomad forced the door open and proceeded out on deck to help clear up the hostiles that were attacking the carrier directly. Once on deck, he found a shotgun and a Gauss and began sniping the targets he could hit for sure, making every round from the powerful gun counted.

Once the squids had let up, Morrison informed Nomad that the hull of the ship had been breached and that the ships reactor core was offline. Taking a deck elevator down, Nomad shotgunned his way through several of the small squids before he reached the entrance to the reactors section. Once there, one of the reactor techs gave him directions on what to do to get the reactor up and running again. With the flip of a breaker switch and a push of a big red button, all but three of the reactor rods lowered back down.

Before Nomad could ask what to do to fix it, three of the little squids showed up in the reactor and began draining power directly from the reactor. Helena, who had joined Psycho in a VTOL, must have been monitoring Nomad's video feed as she sent out a signal in the hopes that her theory would work.

Low and behold, it did. The squids fried themselves from absorbing too much power, but Nomad had to go into the radioactive chamber and force the three rods down by hand. Unsure if the suit had protected him or not, Nomad was ordered back up to the flight deck by Morrison. Before he did so, he back tracked to the armory to grab some heavy fire power. The TAC cannon fired small nuclear grenades, which was sure to destroy anything that got on the deck.

As Nomad fought his way back up the flight deck, he came across the Admiral who had just been stabbed by one of the little squids. Quickly shotgunning the alien, Nomad listened to the Admiral's final orders to protect the people on the ship. Stepping out on to the flight deck, Nomad once again saw the four legged mech. Even knowing it wouldn't do anything, Nomad fired his shotgun at the machine hoping it would do something. The shot did nothing but cause the machine to glow with some kind of energy shield.

At that moment, Helena and Psycho showed up in their VTOL. Using Nomad's suit again, Helena managed to send out a signal that caused the mechs energy shield to drop. Before Nomad could give her his thanks, he had to dive behind some cover to avoid a freeze ray. Next to him was a pile of rocket launchers which he eagerly grabbed and prepped. Stepping out of cover, Nomad aimed the launcher at the only possible weak point; the mechs 'mouth' it moved when it roared. Three quickly fired missiles caused several plates to fall off the mech and clearly pissed it off. Grabbing another launcher, Nomad fired off another salvo at the mech. With sheer luck, Nomad blew off the rest of the mechs mouth, which caused it to collapse and self-destruct.

With the threat gone, Psycho began to maneuver the VTOL to pick up Nomad. As he began too, something rose up from the water next to the carrier. The alien ship was massive, comparable in size to the carrier. The part that Nomad could see had three sections with the two outside ones looking like massive guns.

Those guns were demonstrated as it charged up a shot and blew half of the carrier's command tower apart. Keeping cool, Helena and Nomad did the same thing as before with the mech. After sending a signal through the suit, one of the guns' of energy shielding came down. Not wasting time, Nomad used the TAC cannon to immediately knock it out. After another quick signal burst, Nomad took down the other gun as well.

That was when the alien ship rose up and over the carrier to reveal a hatch underneath. Seeing a quick way to end it before it released its ground troopers, Nomad blasted open the hatch with a rocket launcher and followed up with two nuke grenades from the TAC. The resulting explosion caused the alien ship to roar in pain and it began to drop towards the carrier deck. With Psycho piloting the VTOL away from the alien ship, Nomad sprinted over and jumped for the open trooper compartment holding Helena. Looking back, the alien ship seemed to try and reach Nomad to take him down with it but it failed as the carrier's keel finally broke, causing the two colossal ships to sink.

As the alien craft did sink, it generated a small sphere of energy which seemed to suck the VTOL back into it. The pull was strong enough that Helena was pulled out, but grabbed by Nomad who used his suit's strength to pull her back in. Once Psycho got the VTOL back under control, the trio received word from Prophet that he was on the island and still alive.

* * *

**A/N: Well if you read through that, I hope it was a decent summary. The great thing about Crysis is that there are so many different options you can take to accomplish your objectives, but that also makes it hard to summarize. Then if I were to add in dialog, it would be a story in and of itself. For my purposes, a simple summary was all that was needed.**


	18. Deadman Walking, Part IV

**ME:TUH**

**Chapter 15.4 : Dead Men Walking**

**(Chapter 18 on FF)**

* * *

**A/N: Ok Crysis is done... Next up is the rest of the Crysis comic. Again I have to stress, to try and take a comic and put into words is a difficult task, so I urge you to get the comics to get a better VISUAL idea of what is going on.**

**THIS SECTION CAN BE SKIPPED IF YOU'VE READ THE CRYSIS COMIC!**

* * *

**August 16****th**

**Ling Shan**

Thankfully when Prophet got to the island, Admiral Morrison's nuke had already gone off. The bad news was that the VTOL he hijacked was now out of commission thanks to the Ceph. Unsure of what exactly to do, Prophet wandered around the island fighting the Ceph trying to get samples for Hargreave. Each one he killed though self-destructed, making it nearly impossible.

Sitting on a beach, Prophet reminisced about meeting Hargreave and getting the nanosuit when his comm link came to life.

"_Prophet? Prophet, this is Psycho. Where the __**fuck**__ are you?"_The distinct voice of his former SAS teammate called out.

"Copy, Sykes. I hear you."

"_Well thank fuck for that! And now I got you __**talking...**__ I don't suppose you feel like filling me in on what the __**fuck **__you're __**playing at?**__"_

"It's complicated Sykes..." Prophet then heard the distinct chittering sound of nearby Ceph troopers. "Now is **not** the time."

"_No? Well, here's something __**you **__ought to know. I got Nomad and that Helena bint with me. But pretty much everybody else is __**dead**__."_

"Got it."

"_Good. Now, we got your beacon up on scope. We're airborne and inbound. ETA 'bout eleven minutes. We're going to airlift you out. So you'd better be ready to __**fuckin' move!**__"_

"**Understood**, Sykes. Good to hear your voice."

"_Yeah, well... Be good to hear your explanation for what the fuck is going on around here... Sir."_ With Psycho and Nomad on the way, Prophet got up and prepped himself. As he did, the suit notified him of a threat behind him, followed by several warnings... Turning around to look into the forest, Prophet could see the glowing eyes of several more Ceph. Priming a high explosive grenade, Prophet egged them on.

"Come on then. _Come on..._ _**Come on!**_" He roared, and the Ceph responded by bull rushing him. Before the Ceph could even get out of the forest, Prophet threw the grenade at their feet. The explosion was big enough to completely destroy six troopers and detonate their self-destruct devices. "Yeah... Phone home now, motherfucker." Prophet mumbled.

With the resulting flames leaping up into the sky, the comm link came back up. _"Prophet! We have you on visual. Nice fireworks!"_

Using the suits binoculars, Prophet could make out the VTOL coming in. As he zoomed back out, something in the forest nearby fired at the VTOL, hitting one of its engines and forcing it to go down. Sprinting as fast as he could through the thick jungle, Prophet made his way to the crash site knowing that the Ceph would be swarming what was left of his team. The closer he got, he could hear the distinct sounds of automatic rifle fire.

At the crash site, Helena, Nomad, and Psycho were using the downed VTOL for cover the best they could. They were close the getting overrun though.

"Fuckin' things just keep coming!" Psycho yelled. "Oi, Nomad! Did we pull every fuckin' alien on this island or what?"

"Looks that way!" Nomad yelled back as he took down another alien.

"Guys! **GUYS!**" Helena yelled over the roar of battle. "We got-"At that moment a giant bipedal alien walker blasted the VTOL, causing a good chunk of it to disappear in the explosion as well as sending the three defenders flying."-Trouble."

Psycho got up and saw the monstrosity, then checked on Nomad who wasn't moving from his place in the dirt. "Nomad! Talk to me mate!" The mech made a chittering sound and leveled its gun at Psycho. "Shit! Shit!" he yelled as he ran to avoid getting shot.

The next blast though didn't come from the mech, as it streaked in from the side and hit the mech in the chest. Prophet rushed into view and ordered Psycho and Helena to stay by the now burning VTOL. He jogged up the beach and found another squad of Ceph ready to attack the crash site. With that squad down, he returned back to his team.

"*Gnnrrr*... Come on mate, let's get you *nuhh* up." Psycho grunted as he pulled Nomad up.

"Psycho. Nomad. Ms. Rosenthal." Prophet greeted. "Thought you were supposed to be rescuing me.

"Yeah, very fucking funny!" Psycho shot back as he and Helena lifted up Nomad. "You got some explainin' to do boss man."

"Not now Sykes. We-"

"Fuck not now! I've had it with this sealed order's shit. You're going to fuckin' tell us-"

"He's right, Psycho." Nomad breathed. "We don't *ghnuh* have time for this now."

After a moment's pause, both Prophet and Psycho muttered "Right."

"Strip the VTOL; Weapons, rations, anything you can reasonably carry and make it fast. We're going to have company soon enough." Prophet ordered.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Sometime later, with Nomad walking under his own power, the group of four made their way through the jungle.

"Sykes, you got our six." Prophet ordered.

"Yeah on it."

With the crash site well behind him, Prophet started his story. "I don't know what these creatures' operating parameters are. Hargreave couldn't tell me much, but-"

"Hargreave? Who the blue fuck is Hargreave?" Psycho asked.

"Long story Sykes. We'll get to it."

"Last I heard, Boss, we were a **Delta Force** command." Nomad piped up. "You tell me there's an outside agenda here?"

"That's right. That's what I'm telling you. Come on people. Let's pick up the pace."

Nomad would let it go though, "You talking outside US military command?"

"Yeah. Way outside." Prophet revealed.

"What the fuck happened to you Prophet?" Psycho butted in.

"What happened to me? Colombia happened to me. Or was it Venezuela? Black ops. We didn't pay a whole lot of attention to borders back then."

As he told his team about how he put two CIA operatives and the Colonel in charge in the hospital, they found a cave to rest in. There was a brief moment of silence before Helena spoke up.

"Did you kill him?" Referring to the Colonel he bashed.

"No... But I wanted to. Scum wearing the uniform calling himself a soldier. Took everything I had not to do it then and there."

"*Ahem* Understandable that." Psycho joined in, "But since you're not currently occupying an eight by fourteen at Leavenworth can we assume this Hargreave you mentioned has a bit of the old pull?"

"Pull?" Prophet asked incredulously. "You could say that... All it took was me scrawling my name on three pieces of paper and I'm out of there like it never happened. Of course it would have been too simple for me to go on with my life.

It started at the airport with just the one guy, but they had to have been on me right from the start. Soon as Hargreave sprung me, they'd have known. The first one came along for the ride and his pals were there at JFK. Pretty sure they followed me to the hotel and I know they were there that evening; they weren't trying too hard to be inconspicuous either and swinging some heavy authorization by the looks of it. Very high level heat, however you want to cut it."

"So who were they? CIA?" Asked Helena.

"Could be... Pals of Norman West maybe. Looking for some deniable payback..." As the group rested, Prophet was working on a small receiver. "Goddamnit where is that signal..." he muttered. "Or just someone keeping tabs of Hargreave's operation. You tell me." He finished his thought.

"Counter-intelligence community's gone bollock fucking nuts the last few years. Could be any of those assholes." Psycho added.

"Well, whoever they were, they were still hanging around the next morning when I went to see Hargreave."

"And this Hargreave..." Nomad butted in, "You trust him?"

"I trust his word. Everything he told me, turned out to be true. And that beats those bastards I was killing for in Colombia. He got the charges against me dropped. He got me my rank back. He got me back into Delta Force."

"That's right... Back into Delta as a private-sector mole." Nomad sneered.

"Ah, come off it Nomad. Don't be a twat." Psycho chided.

"Yeah what choice did he have?" Helena added.

"He took an oath Psycho, just like you and me. He swore to-"

"Nomad... You're missing the point. You've seen what's on this island. You've seen what we're fighting. We're under attack as a species. We've woken something up here. Something that's had technology in advance of ours for hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of years. Something that's smashed everything we could throw at it without even trying.

They cleaned us off Ling Shan like bugs off a kitchen table. Dropped the temperature to sub-zero across a hundred square kilometers just to do it. They shrugged Morrison's nuke like it was nothing, and put his entire carrier strike force at the bottom of the Pacific in a single night.

You really think they're going to just stop now? This is a planetary invasion, and Jacob Hargreave is the only man I've met so far who has a handle on what to do about it.

So do I trust Hargreave? Situation we're in now, I don't see we have the luxury of a choice." Prophet finally finished his speech.

"Doesn't alter the fact that you-" Nomad started to argue only to be interrupted by the receiver.

"_Prophet? This is Hargreave. Come in, please..."_ The group was quiet for a second. _"I repeat this is Hargreave. Come in please..."_

"Gonna get that?" Psycho asked.

"Yeah... It's his master's voice." Nomad muttered.

Prophet ignored Nomad for the moment, "This is Prophet."

"_Good to hear your voice Prophet. I had begun to worry. Would you be so good as to update me on the current situation."_

"Sit-rep isn't good sir. Admiral Morrison's carrier strike force was totally destroyed, and the Ceph retain complete control of the island."

"Ceph?" Psycho questioned.

"I'm here with Dr. Helena Rosenthal and two survivors from Raptor team." Prophet continued.

"_Are their suits intact?"_

"More or less. I'm told a second carrier strike force is en route."

"_Yes, I'm aware of that and I suggest you do not remain at Ling Shan to greet them. Forces inimical to both of us have infiltrated the command and you're likely to subjected to some very unpleasant interrogation if they get their hands on you. That's if they don't stir up the Ceph sentinels all over again and trigger something worse. You need to get out of there Major Barnes."_

"Oi! Boss man. Who's this Ceph?" Psycho interrupted.

"Cephalopods, Sykes..."

"_Fortunately I have a private vessel standing by. The Siberian Queen. I'm afraid she's on the far side of the archipelago. My people will extract you from Prospect Six but they can only hold until noon. You must hurry."_

"Noon? Prospect Six?" Nomad questioned.

"_Yes, I'm sorry. The Siberian Queen is not armed. Under the circumstances, she cannot hold longer or circle the island to get an closer to you."_

"Syph-lu-what?" Psycho struggled to pronounce

"Squid to you Sykes." Prophet answered. "Cephalopod means these things evolved from something like an octopus or a squid."

"_The risk of discovery, by the task force or the Ceph, is simply too great."_ Hargreave continued, _"  
You must reach Prospect Six by noon. That is all. Good luck."_ After the signal from Hargreave cut off, the group was quiet for a moment.

"Fucking squid?" Psycho said under his breath.

"Prospect Six?" Nomad questioned.

"Yeah... Potential deployment points around the archipelago." Prophet answered. "We marked them out before the mission ranked for risk."

"We're fight fucking calamari?" Psycho asked no one in particular.

"Higher the number, higher the risk by any chance?" Nomad continued.

"That's right."

"And how many prospects were there?"

"Seven," Prophet declared as he stood up and cocked the action on his SCAR, "We'd better get moving."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

As the group moved from their resting spot, the sun was just beginning to inch over the horizon. A few hours later, they were deeper in the islands jungle.

"... I mean squid? Fucking squid?" Psycho droned on.

"Give it a rest Psycho, we don't-" Nomad chided as Prophet gave the hand signal to stop. "Got a problem?"

"Got a choice to make," Prophet replied as the path before them split in two. "Right hand path is longer, we risk not making it in time. Left hand is the short cut...

"But..."

"But it takes us back inside... Back into the belly of the beast." Prophet answered as he showed the group the cave.

"Through here?" Psycho asked.

"Through there." Prophet spoke solemnly.

"Fuck it. I could eat a plate of calamari right now." Psycho declared as he pumped his shotguns action. "Lock and load."

"Stay close and don't get separated." Prophet warned as they stepped into the cave.

"Yeah... That did occur to me actually." Psycho joked.

A few feet into the cave, they could all see an eerie blue glow. "Head for the blue glow," Prophet directed.

"Yeah and let's hope no one's home." Nomad deadpanned, having had firsthand experience. About twenty meters in, and they came into a cavern that had irregular walls. "They turned off the anti-grav then..."

"Or it failed... Look," Prophet beckoned the group over to the wall of the cave. "Hargreave says this place was designed for structural plasticity... Advanced Nano-Culture function he calls. It just sits in the planet's lithosphere and responds organically to geological pressure over time. Like a living thing, growing, moving, and giving way." He pointed out the difference in a flat and smooth section that was right next to a jumbled mess of what appeared to be natural rock. "You ask me... Looks like something went wrong with that shit."

"Fellas," Psycho began, "This has to be the- *GURGH!*" Before Psycho could finish, he was grabbed around the neck by some tentacle that hung from the ceiling. "Oh you piece of shit!" Psycho cursed.

"Take it out!" Nomad yelled, as he aimed for the ceiling.

Psycho was quicker on the uptake though. "Come one then!" He yelled as he pulled out a combat knife, and began cutting away at the tentacle. "Let's 'ave you then! LET'S FUCKING 'AVE YOU!" After finally cutting the alien appendage enough, Psycho was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. All around the group though were more of the tentacles closing in.

"Suppressing fire!" Nomad called out, and all of them fired at the closest thing to them. A few seconds of sustained fire later and the tentacles were no longer moving.

"Well..." Psycho sighed, "That seemed to work."

"Yeah... Caretaker units... Not set up for combat." Prophet agreed. As they cleaned off their guns from alien gunk that flew around when the tentacles got hit, a familiar chittering sound could be heard coming from where they entered.

"You hear that?" Helena asked

"Yeah... We'd better get out of here. I doubt we get this lucky twice." Prophet suggested. They all set off running at a reasonable pace for Helena who wasn't wearing an advanced suit of armor that increased her capabilities.

After following the tunnel they came to a three way fork in the road.

"Left hand branch," Prophet called out, "Watch the drop." Jumping down first and followed by Nomad, Helena was the one to slip and fall. As Nomad helped her up, Psycho made his way down.

"You guys done making out?" He asked with a wide smile. Prophet on the other hand was leading the group again through the cave system which was becoming more and more complex.

"Up ahead... The ramp to the right." He called back, making sure they followed him.

"Oi! How come you know this place so well boss man?" Psycho called out from the back of the pack. "I mean, we're all still playing catch up and you act like you grew up around here."

As they made their way up the ramp, the blue glow intensified by several degrees. "Suit systems mapped it for me the last time." Prophet answered simply.

"The last time?" Psycho muttered.

"Better shield your eyes when you get to the top here." Prophet advised as he stepped through to another large cavern. "It's kind of bright." The cavern was huge and held two other paths. One of which was the source of the blue glow and was lighting up the cavern like it was Times Square.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Psycho cried out as he walked closer to the doorway.

"Sykes. Believe me... You don't want to know..." Prophet warned. "Just follow me, we're heading for that exit tunnel over... there..." As he looked into the tunnel, the telltale lights of Ceph troopers shown through. Not wasting any time, Prophet immediately raised his weapon and opened fire. "Fall back! Suppressing fire! FALL BACK!" He shouted.

"Not really an option we have boss!" Psycho yelled back, opening fire against tentacles that blocked the way they had come in. Before the foursome knew it, they were back to back, shooting anything that moved towards them.

"We can't stay here!" Helena cried out as she reloaded her pistol.

"Yeah! I can see that! I'm open to fucking suggestions!" Psycho yelled back.

"Nomad! Sykes! Grenades!" Prophet ordered, and without thinking the three of them primed their grenades, "NOW!" and threw them into the biggest clusters of enemies they could find on Prophets command. "Into the light!"

"What-" Psycho started to question but was cut off.

"Just fucking do it!" Prophet swore, "GO!"

As the grenades went off, they all stepped into the weird blue glow and felt something funny happen to themselves as they ended up in another cavern.

"Prophet?" Helena asked weakly as she surveyed the room.

"Right here..." Came the monotoned reply.

"But... But... Where are we?" she asked as she drew closer to a window in the cavern's wall. Outside the window was a barren landscape. In the sky though was a spectacular view of Jupiter's Great Red Spot. "I... I don't understand..."

"You think I do? This is the second time I'm seeing all of this... and I still don't believe what my eyes are telling me." Prophet exclaimed.

"Never mind this believe it or not bollocks! Where the fuck are we?" Psycho demanded.

"Opinion, Ms. Rosenthal?" Prophet offered up.

"Well... That's Jupiter up there taking up most of the sky so I'm guessing we're on one of its moons. Though the gravity's high for that... Feels like almost Earth standard... Which would mean..."

"Means nothing." Nomad stated firmly, keeping watch over the doorway they had just come through. "These creatures can switch gravity on and off like it was a fucking game... Prophet?"

"Yeah he's right." Prophet agreed. "They seem to-"

"No," Nomad interrupted, "Not that. I want to know why they didn't follow us through."

"Stand down, Nomad. They're not coming."

"Why not?"

"I don't know why not. Programming parameters maybe? Orders? They're aliens for christ's sake. They're super-evolved fucking squid! What do you want me to say? You know how a squid would think? If it was super-evolved and riding around in a hi-tech weaponized exoskeleton I mean? Because I'm no expert." Prophet spat.

"Pretty fuckin' stupid for a super-evolved race, you ask me." Psycho deadpanned. "I mean they must know we're on the other side of this... gate. Or whatever it is. All they've got to do is step through and finish us off. They built the fucking thing, didn't they?"

"Did they?" Helena proposed. "Did they build it? We don't know that. We don't even know if the same race built all this stuff. We certainly don't know it was those particular Ceph back there. I mean look out there!" Helena pointed out what at first appeared to be weird rock formations were actually various ships and remains of past civilizations, from the Vikings all the way up to world war two. "These creatures have been watching us for centuries, maybe thousands of years."

"Hargreave reckons the Ling Shan structure has been buried for millions..." Prophet supplied.

"Right..." Helena continued. "This is a civilization that steps across interplanetary distances in microseconds the way we just did. A civilization that sees no obvious division between its organic entities and the machines they use. Who knows what they left sleeping here. Or how it thinks."

"Doesn't have to be that mysterious really..." Prophet added, "Remember Al-Shamani Sykes?"

"Yeah... Terrorist piece of shit... What of him?" Psycho grunted.

"Well we chased that terrorist piece of shit through the streets of Kuala Lumpur for what? An hour?"

"Certainly felt like it..."

"Yeah, had line of sight on him at the end too... And soon as he crossed that embassy line, got past the gate, what did we do?" Prophet asked, already knowing the answer.

"We let him go. Don't fuckin' remind me." Psycho spat.

"Right..." Prophet replied. "We let him go. Could have just kept going. Could have just busted in there and killed his ass but we didn't. Why?"

"... Coz it was a fuckin' embassy!" Psycho yelled.

"Programming parameters, Sykes. And programmed limits. We got them, just like the Ceph do. We obey the imaginary barriers, just like them. Hargreave once told me 'Civilization starts when a species learns to draw a line in the sand and pretend it's a wall.'"

"True enough," Helena came in, "The ability to create and act on symbols is a basic-"

"This is **bullshit**!" Nomad cried out, "I don't care what bullshit theory symbols this Hargreave is selling. I want to know how you got back here the last time. I want to know where you got that weapon you carried.

I saw you taken Prophet. Just like Aztec. Just like Jester. Only they're dead and you're not. Now I want to know what relationship you've really got with these creatures." Nomad demanded.

"What relationship?" Prophet shot back. "You stupid mission-headed motherfucker. Haven't you worked it out yet! Look at us... Look at them! Where do you think this suit technology comes from? Who do you think Hargreave stole it from in the first place!" Prophet growled in anger.

"Oh no way..." Helena muttered as Prophet continued.

"The thing that took Aztec and Jester? The thing that tore them apart? It wasn't trying to kill them... It was trying to connect with them. It thought we were Ceph. I don't know if it got smarter each time it tried. Killed Aztec outright... Snatched Jester but killed him later... By the time it got to me...

You remember that guy in Australia years back? Got taken by a Great White? Didn't eat him, just carried him along in its jaws trying to decide if he tasted right? Right up until he stabbed it in an eye socket and it let him go?

Reckon I know how that guy felt..." Prophet spoke somberly.

"Course, you still got to get out of the water afterward. Fucker nearly tore the mountain apart trying to get to me... Score one for good old earth granite... Once it gave up it was pretty easy making my way through the tunnels. Until I ran into something I never would have expected.

There was a lone KPA officer, captain by the name of Pak... Barely looked like he finished high school... The KPA High Command sent him inside the structure with his squad around the time we did our HALO jump. The Ceph massacred his team, which I guess made me a little less of an enemy for him and a little more of a friend.

He knew the way out, which definitely made him my friend. Had some interesting small talk too... Apparently the KPA had developed nanosuits before us, and the KPA's own suit teams were having dreams of the structure in the mountain. Although their suits were having... technical issues... ever since they arrived on the island.

After our little talk about the suits, we were ambushed by the same kind of tentacles. They grabbed Pak, and after I rescued him the fucking gravity turned off before we got to the exit tunnel. I used the suits hydro thruster to get some traction, but in the end zero g turned out to be the least of our problems as we floated into that cavern we were just in. This time, there were tentacles waiting for us...

You know the territory when you sign up. You're a soldier, you know the deal. Sometimes firepower and training just won't be enough. Sometimes your luck runs out. Sometimes you just have to die. As the tentacles grabbed Pak, he pulled two grenades; one in each hand. The resulting explosion sent me through the portal.

That was when I saw him..." Prophet led the group to a giant statue that had a red visor similar to that of the nanosuit. Even though it was kneeling and hunched over it stood taller than themselves. "Don't know who or what he was... What he was doing there or how long ago... But he died trying to get a round off... Gave me something to aspire to anyway..."

"Big fucker wasn't he..." Psycho commented.

"Ever occur to any of you he might have been a she..." Helena added.

Psycho and Prophet shared a look, "Fair enough," Psycho muttered.

Helena made to touch the statues visor, before Nomad stopped her. "Hey, don't fucking touch that!"

"What are you talking about?" She asked incredulously. "We have to-"

"We have to get out of here is what we have to do." Prophet finished for her.

"But-"

"I mean it Helena. We got a boat to catch."

"Too fucking right, mate." Psycho grunted.

"There'll be time to do archeology some other time," Prophet assured her as he walked back to the portal.

"Are you fucking nuts?" Psycho asked as Prophet began to step into the portal's light, "With what's waiting for us on the other side?"

"When are you guys going to start trusting me again?" Prophet asked in return with a smile, "We'll be fine."

"Get us to that boat in one piece... Then maybe I'll start thinking about trust." Nomad answered.

Psycho and Helena shared a look of disbelief, "Nomad... Mate... You really got stop being such a twat."

As the men went before her, Helena gave one last look to the statue. "So... Some other time I guess..." She sighed as she stepped through the portal.

On the other side, Nomad and Psycho had their guns leveled and ready to start firing, but were greeted by an empty cavern.

"Where the fuck is everybody?" Psycho questioned.

"Toldya..." Prophet replied smugly, "C'mon. Let's get out of here." As Prophet led the way down the exit tunnel, they could see daylight but it looked as if the sun was setting.

"Shit! It's getting dark out there. Were we gone that long?" Psycho cried out.

"No." Prophet said firmly. "We weren't. Come on."

Once they were out, they could clearly see that orange sky slowly turning into night, but Prophet trudged on.

"Whoa..." Nomad called out and grabbed onto Prophet. "Hold up. Where you going? We've missed our boat."

Turning around, Prophet gave him a cold stare. "You don't listen do you? The boat is still there. This isn't what it seems."

"Come off it, mate. How is that poss-"

"LISTEN!" Prophet shouted, "Just... Listen..." Sure enough, they could all hear the sounds of distant battle raging. "You know what that is? That's us over there. Us. Eighteen hours ago. Us and the rest of the marines fighting our way off the island and back to Morrison's carrier fleet."

"Oh my god..." Helena stammered. "Time dilation? Or-"

"Fucking time travel!" Psycho finished for her.

"Morrison's still out there? What about the nuke?" Nomad asked being concerned about what was bound to happen in a few hours.

"It hasn't detonated yet." Prophet answered.

"Boss... You're doing my fucking head in here." Psycho exclaimed. "Time travel? That's what you're telling us?"

Helena stepped in this time. "No, listen Sykes. It makes a lot of sense. Instantaneous travel, like we just did, is bound to put a crimp in the physics we think is normal. Mathematically, some kind of time slip effect might be inevitable for the system to even work in the first place."

That caught everyone off guard. "Hang on. I thought you were a fucking archeologist."

"College physics major." She corrected. "I changed career at postgrad. Couldn't hack the quantum math. The thing is, we traveled-"

"People..." Prophet cut in, "It doesn't matter. You can argue the physics all you like. I know what I saw when I came back the first time. KPA bodies tore up worse that Aztec and Jester, with a blood trail that I followed. I must have tracked him for nearly an hour. Maybe I'd already guessed. Maybe I just didn't want to believe it until I saw his face for myself.

Even when I knew it was him I kept trailing him until he met me. Like picking at a scab, I guess, until it bleeds."

"You saw yourself?" Helena asked, probably wanting to make sure he didn't cause a paradox.

"I sneaked out of there while they were still talking. Got out of the mountain eventually. Met you Nomad." Prophet replied.

"Your suit was glitching... You nearly froze to death in that ice sphere." Nomad commented.

"Yeah... Figure coming through the gate must have done something to the nanotech."

"Oh fucking great... So we got that to look forward to now? On top of everything else, now I'm going to be stuck in a suit on the fritz?" Psycho complained.

"I wouldn't worry." Prophet assured him. "It damped out pretty fast. Suit seems to fix itself given time. Besides... No ice sphere this end of the island. We're in the home stretch. C'mon, let's get to that boat."

As Prophet led them down the mountain side and through the jungle, Psycho muttered, "When I meet this Hargreave I'm going to wring his fucking neck for him."

"Take a number..." Nomad added.

An hour or two later, they arrived at a ridge which overlooked a small bay. In it was a civilian ship just waiting there.

"Well, there she is. Pretty as a little fucking picture... Nice work, skipper." Psycho said.

Keying his comm unit, Prophet called out, "Siberian Queen, this is Raptor team ready for extraction. How copy?"

"_We hear you, Raptor team. Proceed to the beach, we're sending a boat now."_

As Psycho, Nomad and Helena made their way, Prophet brought the receiver he used to contact Hargreave with back out.

"Got a problem?" Nomad asked.

"... Gotta boost this..." Prophet said to himself. "No problem. Just a message I forgot to send... Prophet? Come in Prophet. How copy?

"_Who the fuck is this?"_

"You know who this is."

There was silence between the two of them for a bit, _"What... What do you want?"_

"Got a heads-up for you. You have to go back. After they evac you, you have to get back to the island. Whatever it takes... You hear me, Prophet?"

"_I hear you... And just so you know... They're saying Morrison has a tactical nuke armed and prepped. They say he'll use it..."_

"Just so I know? Think it through, why don't you. I already know everything you know. Listen to me carefully Prophet. The nuke doesn't matter. You'll make it anyway, you hear my voice don't you? If you can't trust me, who are you going to trust? But you have to go back in. Get Hargreave his samples, wait for contact. It's the only way to finish this thing.

Prophet out."

With the connection cut and Psycho and Helena already waiting at the beach, Nomad and Prophet headed down themselves.

"So... Uh... You sure he'll do what you say?" Nomad asked timidly.

"Are you serious? I already know he did. You see me standing here don't you?"

By that time, the two boats the Siberian Queen had sent out were getting closer to shore.

"Here they come skipper." Psycho spoke, "Wonder if we'll get medals for this shit."

"**Major Barnes?"** A man on one of the ships called out using a bull horn.

Prophet waved, "I'll settle for Jack Daniels on ice and a Cuban ci-" At that moment, Prophet noticed something off about the dish that was on the front of one of the boats. "-gar"

"**Body mass only gentlemen... OPEN FIRE!"**

"GET DOW-" Prophet tried to call out, but the heavy fire of numerous machine guns drowned him out as innumerable bullets hit everyone in the group.

"**EMP! NOW!"**

Before the pulse hit, Prophet got a look at Helena. She had enough bullet holes in her that she would have died before her head hit the sand while himself, Nomad, and Psycho were protected by the nanosuits armor. The directed EMP blast though changed that, as it caused the nanosuit to seize and convulse before it shut down.

"You... Mother... Fuckers..." Prophet heard Psycho grunt from the pain before the three of them collapsed from the suits shutting down, and the full weight of the armor hitting them.

"**Cease fire! Targets down! Shut it down!"** After what seemed like an eternity of just lying on the beach, Prophet heard the guy with the bull horn come up on the beach. "Nice work gentlemen. Let's get them aboard. Baker, call it in. Tell them to get the interrogation systems fired up."

_Heh..._ Prophet thought to himself as the goons who took down his team made their way too them. _It's like Hargreave said: There's a price for everything... You just have to be willing to pay it..._

"Bitch is down big time." One of the goons called out loud enough for Prophet to hear. "Good luck interrogating this one."

_My own experience though is so long as someone else is paying, there's a whole line of assholes out there happy to deliver the bill._

"Nice shooting Mason," another of the group said as he lit up a cigarette.

"Hey! The man said take no chances!" Mason defended himself.

"Yeah, the man also said take prisoners for questioning." Goon #2 shot back. "Ah, the hell with it... Suit guys are all intact, that much we are good for."

Good #3 piped up next, "Don't count your chickens yet, man. Vitals on this guy don't look good at all."

"Can you get his helmet off?" #2 asked.

"Nope. Jammed in place. Looks like he took some frag damage and it locked up the release mechanism."

"Yeah? We do that?"

"Nah... Rounds we pumped into them were short bursts. The nanoweave just shrugs that shit off. Strictly a distraction 'til we hit 'em with the EMP. Scan's showing some internal injuries too. Most likely from the same frag blast. Looks like he's been carrying the damage for a while.

_Fucking Nomad... Tough guy to the end. He never said a word. I don't know who these assholes are..._

"Looks like the suit was keeping a lid on the wounds, maybe even fixing them up, slowly. But now, with the EMP blast..."

… _But I'm going to fucking kill them all_

"So is he gonna live?" #2 asked.

"I don't know. Maybe if I could get him back to a decently-equipped lab..."

"What about all that gear on the boat?"

"Nah, can't count on it. Most of that stuff is Hargreave-Rasch propitiatory. Security-coded up the ass. And since Mason there managed to kill all their tech guys when we stormed the boat in Manila-"

"Hey, fuck you!" Mason shouted again. "Those geeks hadn't gone for the alarm, they'd be alive now. We were told-"

"OK people, let's not revisit this." #2 intervened. "What about the other two?"

"Fine, near as I can tell." #3 answered. "EMP took out the suit systems. Locked them down. I've slapped a nano-inhibitor pressure feed on them to keep it that way. But they're both in good shape underneath."

"Alright then," #2 continued, flicking his cigarette butt, which bounced over by Prophet's head. "Do what you can to get this guy stabilized, but I want us off this beach in fifteen minutes tops."

At that point, Prophet blacked out.

The next thing he knew he heard someone calling out his name.

"Prophet?... Psst! Prophet. You hear me? OI! PROP-"

"Yeah, alright Sykes! I'm up, I hear you." Prophet groaned as he took in the situation. The room they were in had five cradle knockoffs, to his left was Psycho with his helmet off, his own was as well, and Nomad was too his right. They were tied down to the cradles, and combined with the weight of the nanoweave, it was almost impossible to move. "You ok?"

"No, my head's fucking killing me. What did they hit us with back there?"

"Directed EMP, strong one. Funneled blast to beat the suit's surge baffles... Nomad? You with us man? Nomad?"

"Forget it skipper, tried him a couple times already. He's out. I don't even know if he's still breathing in there." Psycho said with a hint of regret in his voice. "They turned that Helena bint into Swiss cheese on the beach... Saw it before I went down... This Hargreave motherfucker, if I ever get-"

"This isn't Hargreave."

"It isn't?"

"No. I heard them talking... Whoever these fuckers are, they iced Hargreave's original crew a while back. They got maybe the captain or the comms officer tied to a chair somewhere, keeping up appearances over the airwaves while they wait. But everyone else... Shark food, somewhere between here and Manila is my guess."

"Fuck..." Psycho grunted, "So who-"

"Gentlemen," a new voice came, signaling the arrival of their captor. "Glad to see you're awake. It's going to make this next part a lot simpler."

Prophet thought he recognized the voice, and his suspicions were confirmed when the man stepped into the light. "You!"

"What, you thought I'd forget about you? Let you skip Leavenworth and pick up your greased-palmed pardon without ever chasing down how or why? You thought I'd forget what you did to my men?" Thought I'd forget this?" The man got right up into Prophet's face, and raising his sunglasses, showed Prophet the scar that ran from his forehead, over his now blind left eye, and continued down to his lip.

"Prophet, mate... Am I right in assuming you actually know this wanker? Who is he?" Psycho asked.

"Norman West..." Prophet spat out, "Guy they put me away for beating on in Panama. He's CIA."

"Oh, right... Well, that explains it..." Psycho quipped, causing West to get into his face next.

"Explains what?" he demanded.

"Explains why you're such a cunt!" At that West hit Psycho in the jaw with a left hook and followed up with a right uppercut.

"Big man, huh West? **BIG FUCKING MAN!**" Prophet jeered. "Women and children in Latin America, and now a man tied to a chair! You must be real fucking proud of yourself!"

His knuckles bloody from the cuts on Psycho's face, he turned and looked at Prophet before signaling one of his goons at a table behind him. "Boy... I am just getting started. See I've been on your ass since you walked out the door at Leavenworth. But that's nothing. Colleagues of mine have been all over your friend Hargreave since he spun off CryNet Security to form CELL and gobbled up all those lucrative urban enforcement and National Guard substitution contracts.

The folks at Langley are concerned that the national security interests of the United States and the interests of the Hargreave-Rasch corporation may not fit quite as glove in hand as Hargreave's pet Senate Committees like to assure us. And they asked me to step in.

Now, we know that Hargreave has got something buried here at Ling Shan. Something he's sharing with the North Korean's and probably the Chinese too. We know that shit has just gone so badly wrong that there's a full scale Marine engagement against the Korean's on the other side of the island.

And we know Hargreave must have sent you in for some kind of liaison with the Koreans." West finished up.

Prophet laughed, "Got it _all_ worked out, huh?"

Ignoring Prophet, West continued, "Now, I'm going to need access to whatever it is Hargreave has cooking here and I'm going to need it fast, before his Korean pals get a chance to trash the evidence. So how about it? Got anything for me?" West smirked.

Prophet leaned as far forward as he could, "You know... You people from Planet Langley are fucking amazing. You haven't called it right on a single geopolitical shift in your whole fucking existence! The Berlin Wall, 9/11, the Arab Sprung, the Thousand Day War, the Darien Resurgence. You missed them all!

You _really_ want to know, West? You really want to know what's buried on this island?

Aliens... Fucking tentacled monsters from another star. And yet _**again**_you people have missed it!"

West just grinned like a mass murderer who knew he wouldn't be going to jail. With a hand motion, he beckoned forward the guy who was working at the table. He walked forward to Nomad with an industrial strength drill, complete with a diamond tipped drill bit from the looks of it. Before Prophet could say anything, the driller spun it up and shoved it into Nomad's right thigh.

With the nanoweave inactive, there was nothing to stop the drill bit from breaking through to Nomad's body. The sudden surge in pain awoke Nomad, who began screaming over the sound of the drill burrowing its way through his leg, blood and flesh splattering over his nanosuit.

"NO! WEST! NO! CHRIST, NO, STOP! STOP! **STOP HIM!**" Prophet bellowed. The driller stopped and pulled out the drill, letting a torrent of Nomad's blood flow out of him. "Oh, you piece of **shit** West! **YOU PIECE OF SHIT**"

West was smiling even more, "Gentlemen, I don't think you're taking me seriously. From what I understand, your friend here is already pretty badly injured inside that suit. I don't think he'll take much more of this.

And he's near comatose, which makes him useless to me-"

"Alright West alright! You made your fucking point! I'll give you what you want... Hargreave's bunker coordinates, a path in just... Just get him some medical attention." Prophet grumbled and pleaded.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

A short time later, the ship was making a point on the far side of the island.

"You really think this is going to work? I mean, EMP? You know, back on the beach..." Psycho trailed off.

"That was a directed blast. This is different. The suit baffles should hold up... Will hold up." Prophet corrected himself. "Just be ready."

"Oh, I'm fucking ready." Psycho growled.

They didn't have to wait long. A few minutes after West's goons took Nomad away, the nuke used by Morrison as a last ditch attempt at destroying the Ceph went off. All of the electronics on the ship, and more importantly the cradles and the nano-inhibitors, were fried. Free of their restraints, Prophet and Psycho got up and prepped themselves to take out West and his men.

"So how's you EMP baffling now?" Prophet joked.

"Working. We gonna do this or what?" Down the hall three of West's men were running down to meet them.

"They're loose! They-"

"Open fire! Take them dow-" Three regularly armed CIA mercs didn't stand a chance against two nanosuited Delta Force operatives.

"You alright?" Prophet asked as he removed his fist from a dead merc's chest cavity.

"Peachy fuckin' keen. You?"

Leaving the bodies behind, the duo continued down the hall and came to an intersection. "I'm going to the bridge. You find out where they took Nomad and-"

"FIRE!"

Both Prophet and Psycho saw the idiot with a rocket launcher just as he fired the damn thing inside the boat. Before it reached them though, something crashed through the wall on their right and caught the missile. As the rocket hit, they both saw the nanosuited form of Nomad take the hit for them in slow motion; seeing his visor crack apart and his body bend in ways it wasn't supposed to. Before the flames even cleared, Prophet had rushed up and gunned down the rocketeer and his associate before disappearing.

"Nomad? Mate?" Psycho said softly as he looked down at his friends broken and unmoving form. "Prophet?" he called out weakly, hoping he was doing what Psycho wanted to do to West.

Up on the bridge, West was hurt from the electronics exploding from the EMP overload and was trying to radio his team for damage control. Leaning on the console, he was trying to order his dead associate. "Get... *HGH-HURGH* Get these fires out! Mason, get down to the lab and-"

"Save you the trouble..." Prophet walked in with a shotgun. West turned to face him, using the console behind him for support.

**Kachoom!**

**Kachoom!**

**Kachoom!**

The report of the semi-automatic shotgun rang out over the fire in the bridge.

"*Gughgh*... You motherfu..." West gurgled as Prophet stuck the barrel of the shotgun under his head.

"You know West... You're worse than anything I had to kill on this island. You make humans look bad as a fucking species." West tried to say something else, but was silenced by another **Kachoom** of Prophet's shot gun.

Back below decks, Psycho was still by Nomad.

"Ah, no... Nomad, mate... No..." Psycho mourned.

"Is he...?" Prophet couldn't finish the question.

"Yeah... He is... Not a fucking hope..."

Prophet knelt down, putting his hand on Nomad's chest to pay his respects to the man who had done so much on Ling Shan simply because he had orders and a mission to complete. Getting up from his vigil, Prophet turned to Psycho, "C'mon man. We got to get this boat turned around and of here. Got to get the data back to Hargreave. He's the only one who can help us now."

* * *

**A/N: Believe me, I was pissed when they killed off Nomad and Helena. Also in my opinion they didn't go far enough in depth with the comics because Psycho's status during Crysis 2 is unknown. **

**I realize that this 'chapter' was dialog heavy, but its hard to take a comic and put into a purely word format. The next chapter is more balanced for dialog and description.**


	19. Deadman Walking, Part V

**ME:TUH**

**Chapter 15.5 : Dead Men Walking**

**(Chapter 19 on FF)**

* * *

**A/N: Well now... If you've skipped the last two chapters because you played the first Crysis and read the comic, you're going to learn what happened between the end of the comic (the end of the Ling Shan event) and the beginning of Crysis 2.**

**In short**, **THIS IS A MUST READ SECTION!**

**If you read carefully, there are changes in to things previously established that have been changed. They will be explained at the end of what is currently in the arc.**

* * *

**August 17****th****, 2020**

**Ling Shan Archipelago**

_**Siberian Queen**_

After putting out the fires, dumping the bodies of West and his men overboard, and repairing enough electronics to get back to a port, Prophet and Psycho grieved over the loss of their friends and brothers in arms. Aztec, Jester, Nomad, and Helena; all four of whom paid a sacrifice that hardly anyone else would even know about. Such was the life of being in a Special Operations Force like Delta Force. You were the best of the best, but were so highly classified even your own families never knew where you were off too.

"What now?" Psycho asked. He and Prophet fixed the Siberian Queen's computers enough for autopilot to take them to Manila, and they were currently standing at the ships aft watching the main island of Ling Shan, and more notably the Ice Sphere, shrink.

"Don't know... That second carrier force was supposedly twice as big as Morrison's, so we'll see..." Prophet sighed.

At that moment, the ships satellite comms array came to life. With his and Psycho's suits patched in, they could see that it was Hargreave calling.

"_I assume since the Captain didn't check in at the appropriate time that the ship was also taken over, Prophet?"_

"Yes..." Prophet began, "Colonel West was the one leading the team... Suffice to say it's a long story..."

"_I also noticed that another of your comrades vital signs went down... I am sorry for your loss Major Barnes, truly." _Hargreave supplied, _"However, do not vaporize his suit if you were planning on doing so. The data that was downloaded on the Constitution was lost with it, Nomad's suit mainframe may hold a key in repelling this invasion."_

"Copy that."

"OI! Hargreave!" Psycho butted in, "If you knew about this why didn't you let Uncle Sam know! We could have held those squid motherfuckers at bay!"

"_Ah yes Sargent Sykes... I'm afraid that while I have some pull in the Pentagon, it only goes so far. The best I could do __**was**__ Raptor team and the Constitution carrier force. Any more than that, the Joint Chiefs reasoned, would have the entire South China Sea prepping for war._

_Needless to say, with the massive losses sustained I have learned that the bulk of the United States' military might will be making their showing. With several hundred Ceph Scouts flying around, they are launching their best fighter squadrons as we speak._

_In the meantime, I suggest you stay in the vicinity of the island. I have let key people know that you two have made your way off the island. They will be there to rescue you in a matter of hours."_

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Hargreave was right. As soon as the word hit about the numerous losses being sustained at Ling Shan, the closest American military bases went to full alert. The President and his Joint Chiefs came up with a plan to combat this new threat; deny them access to their most widely observed unit, the Scouts. The second carrier force, knowing what to expect, had their jets flying air patrols keeping tabs on the Scouts. For the first day, August 18th, the scouts didn't stray too far away from Ling Shan.

By August 19th, the Air Force had managed to plan and set up a 24/7 patrol pattern for their latest F-45 hypersonic fighters. The F-45's were new enough that they hadn't even been given an official name, and while they had great range, had to be refueled twice on the way to Ling Shan.

When the F-45's and the Ceph Scouts met for the first time on August 20th, it was a one sided battle. While the Scouts pulverized the Marine VTOL's, they simply couldn't match the speed of the F-45's and their missiles.

On August 21st, all of the active Ceph Scouts beyond 1000 kilometers of Ling Shan were destroyed. It was also that time that Psycho, Prophet, and Nomad's body were retrieved and taken back to the 'Groom Lake' facility for a debrief.

With air superiority achieved, the carrier force that was sent to back up Morrison's fleet was further augmented with a third fleet from Tokyo. Maintaining a blockade around the island was easy at first; shoot anything that wasn't human, no questions asked.

However, even with their quick response, the Joint Chiefs weren't satisfied with simply holding the alien threat there. On September 1st, they mobilized several Marine combat divisions to start to retake the island. With the initial data from Raptor and Hawk team's nanosuits, they were confident that they could push the aliens back to the Ice Sphere with enough air support and heavy anti-air.

What they weren't expecting though was the appearance of new ground troopers. The new Ceph troopers were in bipedal exosuits that used some sort of weaponized plasma. In firefights reminiscent of World War One the Marines took considerable losses trying to take control of anything beyond the initial beachhead they established. Any and all attempts to send missiles or recon drones through the Ice Sphere to try and get at the source of the problem also met with failure.

Combined with substantial loss of hardware when F-35's launched from the carriers would crash due to newly developed anti-air capabilities, on November 19th the Joint Chiefs revised their plan from retaking the island to a full naval blockade. Mine field deployment and submarine patrols were included to prevent a repeat of what happened to the Constitution.

The story on the island though was another matter. Because when fighter pilots had to eject in a combat zone that was being evacuated, they had to be retrieved. While the rest of the combat teams were prepping to leave the island, Captain Mitchell's SAR team went in to recover three F-35 pilots who were shot down providing cover for extraction VTOL's. With little to no support, Mitchell and his team went in. The after action report would show that the final mission resulted in the death's of two Marines and two Air Force PJ's while rescuing the three pilots.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

With the final mission on Ling Shan completed, all access to the island was cut off on November 20th. Constant thermal and EMF scanning satellites were maneuvered to provide 24/7 surveillance of the island as well as a full naval blockade thirty miles around the island.

Using the detonation of a nuclear warhead to supply the cover story, US atomic energy officials went public with the story that the KPA, being in an economic depression, were turning to the testing of 'dirty' warheads to sell to terrorists. When the presence of a US Spec Ops team was discovered, they blew a prototype nuclear bomb which has permanently contaminated the island.

From November 21st through January 1st everyone who had been involved in the Ling Shan incident were debriefed and checked for any possible effects of coming into contact with the aliens. Prophet, Psycho, and Hawk team were still being held at Groom Lake where the Joint Chiefs and CryNet techs went over every scrap of data. Gould, who was the lead tech, was there as well to go over the data and take notes from them and Hawk team about how the suits could be improved.

Before the debriefing and isolation period was even over, JSOC held a meeting with Hargreave concerning the future of the nanosuit technology. While the N1 surpassed all expectations, given the fact that they lost eight of the original fifteen suits, were wondering if Hargreave could offer a suit that was more durable than the N1. With approval from the Pentagon and the data collected from the N1's, Hargreave began the final alterations to the newest nanosuit he's had in the works since the release of the N1 in 2017.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

**January 2****nd****, 2021**

**Hargreave's Office, The Prism, NY**

As Prophet walked into Hargreaves office yet again, he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. After the entire debacle at Ling Shan and the shaky cover story of the North Korean's testing 'dirty' nuclear warheads, he and Psycho were shoved aside. Hawk team as well was sidelined from any missions.

The good news was that the Ceph hadn't made any further moves from Ling Shan, not that they could if they wanted too. Constant satellite coverage, an minefield, naval blockade, and five minute rapid response F-45's on standby from Japan ensured that anything that moved would be obliterated.

Still, for a man like Prophet it wasn't easy to be told you can't do anything because they need the battle armor you used for its data. Gould and his tech teams were constantly going over the eight nanosuits for any extra data. Hawk team's suits though didn't receive the same attention as Raptors, since they went inside the Ceph Mothership.

So what Hargreave wanted from Prophet now was completely unknown. Taking a seat and pouring himself some Jack Daniels from the tumbler on Hargreave's desk, Prophet waited for the man's image to show up on the screen above his desk.

"Glad you could be here Prophet... We have much to discuss." Hargreave began. "As you no doubt have gathered, the Ceph you encountered on Ling Shan are only the tip of the proverbial ice berg. As such, I have been working on a new nanosuit designed to combat the Ceph using their own technology-"

"Yeah," Prophet cut in, "You need me and Sykes to go in again don't you?"

Hargreave didn't say anything for a moment. "Yes. We have a prototype being completed as we speak, but it needs to be field tested. It would be preferable however for someone who hasn't worn a nanosuit to be its driver for baseline analysis."

"Save the tech speak Hargreave. What's so special about this new suit?"

"You will see soon enough Prophet... For now do you have anyone in mind that could accompany you and Sargent Sykes back to Ling Shan?" Prophet thought back through all of his contacts and well-knowns in the SF community. Almost all the Delta Force operatives he knew were either on missions or retired. That's when it hit him.

"Yeah as a matter of fact I do..."

* * *

**March 1****st****, 2021**

**H&R Prism**

Needless to say when Prophet showed up at Vandenberg AFB two weeks ago, he wasn't sure if the man he remembered from the nanosuit team tryouts would be up to the task yet. A lot can happen in four years, and Prophet's primary concern was that Mitchell would no longer be interested. Being 31 in Spec Ops was akin to being a 40 year old quarter back for the NFL. You know the terrain and how to respond to the other teams defense but one or two more bad hits and you were done.

After the airmen had pointed Prophet down to the bases training facility, he found his way pretty easily. Numerous airmen and officers were heading in the same direction talking excitedly about some kind of fight. The closer he got the thicker the crowd grew, and after shoving his way inside the training room he saw what the fuss was about.

Mitchell was above average in height and weight, 6'3" and 250 pounds but was not one to be messed with. His musculature screamed that he could and would kick ass, as he currently was doing. His opponent was a giant of an airman, 6'8" and probably 350 pounds. The giant though was the one on the ground stuck in a triangle choke. After the giant had tapped out, several low grumbles could be heard along with money changing hands.

Letting the crowd disperse around him, Prophet waited for everyone to clear to room. Mitchell on the other hand, after helping his opponent up began giving him some pointers on his form.

"You got a great reach Max, but it's also your weakness." He coached, "You can't let anyone get inside your guard or you'll be done for, especially when it comes to grappling. Work on you endurance as well, having strength is only one part of being a good fighter."

"And what would those other parts be?" Prophet joined in, declaring his presence to the Air Force Captain.

Not missing a beat, Mitchell continued, "Speed, awareness, adaptation, confidence, and of course luck doesn't hurt." He smiled at the luck part. "Dismissed Max." The airmen quickly saluted and left the training room. Walking over to the side of the mat where Prophet stood, he grabbed a bottle of water and took a quick drink. "So... What does the infamous Major Barnes, leader of Raptor team, want from lowly old Captain Mitchell?"

"Glad to see you remembered me Mitchell," Prophet began, "What I'm here for is to find out if you would be interested in joining the team."

"Cut to the chase Barnes," Mitchell snapped, "I know what you and your team stirred up on that island."

Crossing his arms Prophet replied, "Fine... Hargreave's developed a new nanosuit to use against the Ceph but it needs to be tested first. Yourself, Psycho, and I would go back to the island to do some recon and intelligence gathering."

Looking Prophet straight in the eye, Mitchell spoke calmly "What if I say no?"

Smiling, Prophet pulled out an envelope and handed it to Mitchell. "Then I have JSOC approval to drag your ass with me."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

That was two weeks ago, and now with the N1.5 completed and Mitchell briefed on its capabilities by Hargreave and Gould, Mitchell was sparring with Prophet and Psycho as well as going through numerous tests to be sure it performed as perfectly as possible.

A visual comparison between the N1 and the N1.5 showed that the N1.5's nanoweaves were slightly thicker and more streamlined than the N1. The N1.5's frame was also more streamlined and was easier to get off as well being separated into seven sections rather than the piece-by-piece style the N1 had. Also included was the most comprehensive communications suite ever established that would allow for real time data streams to anywhere in the world. The biggest difference though was in the suits programming. Rather than a simple computer that reacted to the bodies biochemical and biomechanical signals, an advanced non-sentient AI was imbedded to increase the wearers response time as well as regulate his body in nearly every way.

Fiber Integrated Reactive Synaptic Transceiver, or FIRST for short, was the first thinking computer of its kind. By connecting to the nervous system, the AI could read and stimulate the nanosuit and its wearer to achieve maximum efficiency. The results showed as Mitchell's reaction time in the suit was beyond comprehension, his problem solving skills dramatically shortened, and his overall physical ability increased without using the nanosuits power mode.

* * *

**March 17****th****, 2021**

**Ling Shan Naval blockade**

After two weeks of testing and training, Mitchell was well versed with his new suit. However, Psycho was coming down with some sort of disease that attacked his immune system that had even Hargreave's doctors confused. With the Brit's assurances that he would be alright till they got back, Prophet and Mitchell, now going by the call sign Atlas (decided after his meeting with Hargreave), went out to complete their mission.

"Attention on deck!" The deck master of the cruiser shouted as the Sea King helicopter touched down. With Atlas being a Captain and Prophet a Major, they outranked everyone on the ship except it's Captain. As they made their way across the deck and into the cruiser, they both glanced at the island forty miles away. There was a storm brewing on the horizon behind it, while the sea where the cruiser patrolled was still calm.

Leaving the site behind them, they continued onward to the CIC to check in with the Captain.

"Ah... JSOC's A-team as arrived I see... Captain Potter." The 50 something man greeted as soon as the bulkhead door opened. Captain Potter was a career Navy man who could have gone admiral but "fell in love" with his current boat. With no facial hair, and graying hair under his baseball cap, he looked like the old veterans you normally see at bars. The two nanosuit operatives saluted in respect and received one back. "Now... I've been told that you two are entering that hell hole of an island and I am to act as your support. You care telling me why we are only sending in two of you and not an entire army?"

Prophet stepped forward, "Captain, sir. This is a simple intelligence gathering mission that will take us into the Sphere. All we need will be a boat, directions through the minefield, and air and fire support for extraction."

Potter studied the two operatives closely, before smiling. "Good to hear son. I'm sure the Fleet Admiral already has received the orders from the Joint Chiefs, so as soon as you need back up give me a holler on frequency 736 point Delta." Potter then turned around to shuffle through a stack of papers. "Here are the minefield plans. Those buggers out there are the latest available, changing their position every hour. Stay on your toes out there. Lieutenant!" Potter shouted, and the deck hand who had guided them down to the CIC came in.

"Sir!"

"Take these gentlemen to the armory, get them supplied and on their way."

"Yes sir!"

Turning back to the operatives, Potter saluted once more. "God speed gentlemen."

In the armory Prophet grabbed a SCAR with an under barrel grenade launcher, ten mags of ammo, and a pistol for back up. Mitchell on the other hand grabbed a GK8 Gauss rifle and all the ammo he could carry for it. The lieutenant then took them to the bow of the cruiser where a small boat was waiting for them. Following the directions to navigate the minefield, it took them an hour to get from the cruiser to the island.

Using the islands many waterways, they swiftly worked their way in to avoid disturbing any nearby Ceph patrols. Surprisingly, none showed up as the duo made their way to the ice sphere. After ditching the boat, they continued on foot for a couple hours until Prophet stopped them.

"Hold up... We've been following the path that Nomad took on his way out..." Prophet said absentmindedly

"Yeah?.. What's the problem?"

"We should have entered the Sphere long before now... A few more klicks and we'll be at the evac zone where Strickland was killed..."

"So why didn't the satellites show that the sphere has shrunk?" Atlas asked.

"More importantly why did it shrink..." Prophet asked. "Come on... We aren't going to find anything out standing here..."

The evac zone Prophet talked about took them four hours to get to. Along the way, they could see where the Sphere had expanded to its maximum size. Everything was thawing out from its exposure to being flash frozen, and the further they went the less things were thawed. Prophet paid his respects to Strickland at the destroyed husk of a humvee at the evac site before they moved on up the valley, following the path that Prophet and Nomad used to get out.

When they reached the area where Nomad and Prophet first came out, they saw the ice sphere was withdrawing back to the main structure. Not knowing what it meant they rushed inside, not caring about the subzero conditions. Racing through the valley that led up to the mountain, the duo still had not spotted any Ceph patrol.

"Hey Prophet?" Atlas called out as they climbed up a sheer cliff.

"Yeah?"

"If the Pentagon figured that transmission the Ceph sent out to whatever galaxy... What if this entire time the purpose of the Sphere was to collect enough energy for the ship to get back..."

Prophet jumped for the top of the cliff, his nanosuit allowing him to make quick work of the remaining distance. "What do you mean?"

Atlas followed suit, "I mean if, going by your experience with that portal, the Ceph do use wormholes for instantaneous interstellar travel, it would require a substantial amount of power to do so."

Prophet thought it over, "Makes sense... Let's go before your theory turns out to be true..."

After finally climbing up the mountain to the spot where Nomad came out, they found the main door closed. On its sides though were two other smaller doors Nomad must have missed as he got out.

"Well... What do we do now?" Atlas asked eying up the two doors.

"The only thing we can do... You take the right side and try to find your way to wherever the main power generator is... I'm taking the left side and I'm going to see if I can find their command room."

Atlas checked his Gauss rifle, loading a sabot into the chamber and switched out the assault scope for a laser pointer and reflex sight.

"Sounds like a plan... The sooner we get out of here the better..."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

It had been an hour since Prophet and Atlas had gone their separate ways. Checking in at regular intervals showed that the Ceph were disturbingly absent as well as the gravity being normal. Atlas had found a branching power line and followed it, while Prophet found the path that Nomad had taken. Everything it seemed was shut down while the few power conduits Prophet saw were pulsing wildly.

Prophet worked his way through the manufacturing area, and after climbing his way up to the hallway, found his way into the control room Nomad had found with the holographic map of the ship. The displays that were in Nomad's video stream were no longer active, but as soon as Prophet approached one it activated. The blue hologram showed one symbol pulsing, and taking a chance Prophet put his hand up to it.

The pulsing symbol disappeared and in its place, some sort of hand scanner appeared on the console. It was shaped like the Naked Ceph's, as Hargreave called them, hands/tentacles.

"Hey Atlas..." Prophet radioed. "Atlas?"

"_Yeah... I'm here..."_ His counterparts voice came, albeit whispered. _"I've found what appears to be one of the main power relays. There are a new kind of Ceph all over the place while the blue ones are in some kind of stasis pods. I'm streaming you my video..."_

A half second later and Prophet's nanosuit provided a small display of what Atlas was seeing. The new Ceph were pink in color and surrounded by a bipedal exoskeleton. They resembled the ones that Psycho, Nomad, Helena, and himself had fought when trying to get away from the island for a second time. As Atlas scanned the scene, something caught his eye.

"Atlas, pan your view left..." Prophet ordered. As Atlas did, he saw another portal, exactly like the one he stepped through last time. "Son of a bitch..."

"_You can say that again..."_ Atlas whispered, _"You think they're using the power they've gathered to bring in reinforcements?"_

"Looks that way... Keep observing the situation and for God's sake stay out of sight Atlas..."

"_No need to tell me twice."_

"Good... Now I'm in the same command room that Nomad found. I've found a console that's reacted to me and I'm going to see what it does... Be ready to get the hell out of there..."

"_Copy that..."_

Closing down the video feed, Prophet gingerly put his hand up against the scanner. The suit seemed to hum in reaction, along with his HUD going on the fritz for a few seconds. Thankfully there was no alarm triggered as a holographic map showing the eastern seaboard of the United States popped up and the area of Manhattan was highlighted, albeit underground. Unfortunately there were no obvious controls to see if the map would expand outward to show any other potential locations of interest. After examining the hologram up close for a few moments, Prophet stepped back to see if any other consoles would awaken.

As he neared another one, Atlas radioed in._ "Prophet!"_ He hissed, _"I may have been spotted by one of the Ceph... I'm cloaked and trying to get out of sight... Recommend you haul ass out of here!"_

"No! I'm coming to you!" Prophet retorted, "Give me a GPS ping and I'll find you! I am NOT-"

"_Aw FUCK!" _The distinct sound of the Gauss firing could be heard over the still open comm link, _"I've been compromised! They have their own stealth units! I repeat! They have their own stealth units! Get the hell out of here Prophet!"_

Instinctively Prophet cocked his SCAR's charging handle, and switched it from safe to full auto. The sound of Atlas fighting and firing the Gauss could be heard in the background as well. Judging by the sounds of the fight, Atlas was kicking ass by using the Gauss as a melee weapon and firing when it cooled back down.

As Prophet worked his way back the way he came, the ship began to shake and groan with its efforts to fully separate itself from the mountain. Prophet had just got back to the assembly area when Atlas' fight died down. "Atlas? You better be getting your ass out of there..." Prophet warned.

"_Yeah... About that... The damned squids locked down the room... I'm going to try to use the Gauss to punch through the door..."_ The sound of the Gauss firing and its sabot hitting the door could be heard through the radio. _"Fuck... Not even a damned dent..."_

"Atlas! Use your head! The room you're in is a power relay room! Cut the damn power! There might be a fail-safe for the doors to open!" Prophet reasoned.

"_Or the failsafe would be for the doors to remain shut... Believe me Prophet, I've designed enough fail-safes to know what would be used where... If this ship actually did come here after two million light years of travel, the fail-safe in the event of power loss would be for the hatches to close to maintain the occupants safety..."_

"Damnit Mitchell!" Prophet cursed as he continued on his way out. "Are there any consoles for you to check out?"

"_Uh... Yeah a few... Give me a sec..."_ Prophet by this time was in the final section of the ship before exiting and waited there. _"Alright... Only one activated and it looks like a map of the solar system... There is a symbol around Earth and one nearby Jupiter... Sending the feed now..."_

Yet again Prophet could see what Atlas saw, and he described it perfectly. It was a two dimensional map of the solar system from a top down point of view. The symbol around Earth looked like a complicated double figure eight while the one orbiting around Jupiter looked like the Greek letter for Omega. Atlas then touched the icon around Earth and it zoomed in. The hologram then showed what looked like a launch path for the ship. It would follow a pattern similar to the old space shuttles, rising up vertically for a time, then rolling over to a ballistic path to exit the atmosphere. Once it orbit, the path ended in another symbol that looked like a whirlpool.

"_Well... That about sums it up... They are leaving and are using a portal to get out of here..."_ The video feed then cut from Prophet's HUD, leaving him staring at the irregular walls of the hallway.

"Atlas wait just a sec-" The ship then lurched upward with a loud roar as the mountain that had built up around it collapsed.

"_Prophet get out of here! If we both go with the ship the rest of the Earth is screwed when these guys bring reinforcements!"_ Atlas yelled, forcing Prophet to react, leaving the hallway and getting to the final door. Outside miraculously, the section of mountain had sloped enough from the ship shaking itself free for Prophet to slide down it. The Ice Sphere was completely gone as well, the storm that was brewing earlier right on top of the island.

As rain hit Prophet's visor, another radio transmission came in from Atlas._ "I'm going to see if I can destroy this power regulator of theirs... It may stop them from leaving..."_

"Hey... Atlas..." Prophet muttered through the link.

"_Yeah?"_

"Wish you were with us from the beginning... We could have used you..."

"_No you don't... Things happen just the way they should... Now I'm sending you a file... When you get back stateside... Don't go to Hargreave until you talk to General Hawk at Vandenberg. He'll know what you're there for..."_

"Copy that..." A moment later a sound file was downloaded to Prophet's nanosuit memory. When it finished, Prophet had finished sliding down the slope that was the remains of the mountain. Looking back up at the fully exposed ship, he could see it rising slowly into the sky.

"_Alright... Time for some fireworks... Good luck Prophet..." _Atlas called out.

Prophet couldn't think of anything to say for a moment, but when the ship had fully risen out of the rocks he radioed back, "God speed Mitchell..." The radio connection with Atlas then dropped as the Ceph ship began to accelerate into the sky. If Mitchell did anything to the power relay, it looked like it had no effect.

Standing there until the ship could no longer be seen and the storm passed over the island, Prophet radioed back to Captain Potter.

"_Prophet? What in blazes happened! As soon as you two left, the overhead sats showed the Sphere shrinking!" _The Navy Captain yelled.

"The Ceph were packing up sir... When we infiltrated, there was zero activity until Atlas reached a power relay. He was discovered before he could get out...

… Captain Potter... I am reporting USAF Captain Mitchell as Missing In Action... Requesting evac on my locat-"

At that moment, there was brilliant flash in the night sky near the horizon. Prophet could only sink to his knees as he almost assuredly lost another Raptor teammate.

"_My God... Major Barnes... You said Captain Mitchell was on board that?"_

"Yes sir..."

There was silence on the line for a moment as the old captain processed it. _"Right... Evac is on their way Major..."_

* * *

**March 18****th****, 2021**

**Vandenberg AFB**

**CA, USA**

The trip back stateside was nothing less than torture for Prophet. After getting picked up from the island, Hargreave managed to establish communications with Prophet's suit and went on about how his suit managed to pick up some of the Ceph code and protocols. Ignoring the ancient babbling voice in his head, Prophet was content to sit in the back of the boat; until Hargreave mentioned Atlas' suit signal.

"_... Thankfully the prototype suit Atlas wore fulfilled its purpose... The data we received up until the ships explosion will guide us on the N2's final details... Strangely enough the very end of the data resembled the same distortions we encountered with your suit Prophet when you went through the Ceph Portal... I don't mean to get your hopes up Major Barnes, but Captain Mitchell may have used the Portal he saw in the power regulation room..."_

"You mean he could be at the Ceph home world?" Prophet cried out.

"_... The chances of that are slim son..."_

That was yesterday though, and right now Prophet was once again making his way through Vandenberg Air Force Base. He had a promise to keep and he would keep it no matter what. Still wearing his nanosuit, the various airmen, officers, and MP's got out of his way. While not invincible, Prophet if he wanted too could destroy everything in the base and come away practically unharmed. When he reached General Hawk's door, he didn't bother knocking and walked right in.

The front office was typical of a General's aide. Everything had its place, and even the colonel behind the desk looked like he was as by the book as one could get. Standard Air Force blues on, so crisp and neatly ironed they looked like they were made out of steel, and the typical high and tight haircut most pilots wore.

Ignoring the stiff neck colonel, Prophet continued on back through the door to the General's actual office. The colonel got up and immediately started protesting Prophet's presence but it went unheard.

"You are dismissed Colonel," Hawk announced before Prophet had even walked all the way through the door. Hawk was standing behind his desk, looking out the window that was his office's back wall. Out it he could see the entire flight line; F-22's, F-35's, even a couple F-45's were parked and on five minute alert status. "I already know why you are here."

Prophet closed the office door behind him before he responded. "Then you know Captain Mitchell is presumed KIA..."

Hawk turned around and looked at Prophet. The Generals eyes were red, most likely from weeping or a lack of sleep. "Yes..."

"Then you probably also know that Mitchell gave me a file that you were supposed to get..."

Hawk nodded, "Follow me..." and walked out of his office.

Following the General through the base proved to be very interesting. They descended enough flights of stairs to be well underground, and went through even more security checkpoints than he had to go through to get to Hargreave's private office. Finally they arrived at their destination. The room was a combination of a mechanics shed, computer farm, and a work out arena.

"Welcome to the 'Shed' as we call it," Hawk announced. "All of my best people work on their projects here." True to his word, there were several people working on tinkering with various pieces of equipment or working on their computers. What caught his eye though was the nanosuit cradle off to the side. Hawk laughed, having noticed Prophet's reaction. "Go on and sit in the chair... We have some things to take care of."

Doing as instructed, Prophet sat down to let the cradle and Hawk's techs work their magic.

"What you may not have known was that while Ryan was in his suit, he set up a direct link to his workstation here to analyze the data by himself at a later date." Hawk told him as the link was set up. "Using our own observations and equipment, we also tracked the Ceph ship the entire time until its explosion."

"So what do you need me for?" Prophet asked, since it seemed that Atlas had his own operation going on.

"We need your suits basic programming code to break the encryption Hargreave placed on the data. Ryan found the key for it, but you guys were already en route and had no time to transmit it to us on our secure network. I'm betting and hoping that he uploaded the encryption key to that message he gave you so we can avoid having to hack into your suit."

"Greaaat..." Prophet groaned.

It took almost an hour, but the file that Atlas had sent was finally found. All of the techs in the room then shifted their focus from their current projects to the new one; understanding the data that Mitchell had sent back. Just as they reached their seats, an audio message from Mitchell began playing.

"_This is US Air Force Captain Ryan Mitchell. If you have found this message, please bring it to General Hawk._

_._

_._

_._

_General Hawk please enter your identification code to access the message."_

Without hesitation, Hawk entered a code into the main computer.

"_Access granted..._

_._

_._

_._

_Hawk... If you're hearing this, then I'm dead. Whether it is in the line of duty or not, I just wanted to use this opportunity to say it was an honor serving with you. This message from the grave serves two purposes. #1 being getting you the encryption used on the Nanosuit so the data I streamed to my personal hard drive can be read and understood.  
._

_._

_.  
#2 is for Sarah... Hawk... My final words to her are the last section of this recording._

_._

_._

_._

_Sarah please enter the password now."_

"Shut off the message Torez... That's personal stuff..." Hawk ordered, his face looking sullen.

Prophet got the all clear from the cradle tech and stood up. "Who is Sarah?"

Hawk took a deep breath before turning to look at Prophet once more. "His wife."

* * *

**March 19****th****, 2021**

**Vandenberg AFB**

**CA, USA**

The rest of the day yesterday for Prophet was spent doing nothing but watching the techs work on the data Atlas had sent them. They were focusing mostly on what happened when he interfaced with the Ceph console and what he all did to stop the ship that might have caused the explosion. Surprisingly, one of the techs made a breakthrough and managed to create a 3D representation of what happened.

Shortly after Mitchell had sent Prophet the file, he accessed more information from the console. While it was hard to tell what he did with the information, about ten minutes later he fired an entire Gauss clip into the power relay and made for the portal device. The time coding in the data showed all of this happening right before the ship exploded. He _had_ stopped the ship from leaving the Milky Way. Surprisingly there was still a data connection for a second and a half after Mitchell went through the device, but was nearly incomprehensible.

It was then that Hawk ordered all of NASA's Near and Deep Space Telemetry data, along with NORAD's, be sent to them. That information provided a new revelation. The ship had created its own portal, but failed to enter it before exploding. The techs then began to brainstorm about Mitchell's fate. Apparently if he had entered a different portal while the ship was exploding, creating another one and, having damaged power systems, anything from vaporization to time travel could have occurred. Even after following Prophet's suggestion of using Hubble and other satellites to examine Jupiter and it's moons, nothing had shown up to signal an arrival there, by Mitchell or otherwise.

Of course that was all just speculation from the data which had yet to be fully understood. For all intents and purposes, Ryan Mitchell was dead to those in 2021. That made this next part hard for Prophet. He had lost men under his command before, but never has he been the one to break the news to their loved ones.

Having gotten out of his nanosuit, Prophet was in a standard dark blue flight suit that had a Velcro patch with his name on it. He was sitting in a lounge of some sort by himself as Hawk walked Sarah in. When she entered, the first thing Prophet noticed were her blue eyes which seemed to see right through him. The second thing he saw was the slight roundness in her belly.

His jaw dropped in realization. He now knew why Mitchell had asked what would happen if he refused to go on the mission. Prophet had, in a way, caused Mitchell's yet-to-be-born child to have to grow up without a father.

Sarah surveyed the room, and after locking eyes with Prophet noticed his open mouth. Prophet normally had a hard to read face, but she saw right through him. With her right hand clutching her heart, and the other going to her stomach she crumpled down to the floor on the spot. Hawk barely caught her as she fell, and helped to let her down gently.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Two hours later and Sarah had heard her husband' final words, in private. Prophet and Hawk left her alone in the room, figuring she wanted it to be in private. She had gone through the seven stages of grief faster than Prophet thought possible, but when Hawk told him she had also been military it made more sense.

Sarah had left around ten minutes ago and went back home to make funeral arrangements. Prophet had ensured her that Ryan's death would not be in vain, and Sarah simply remarked "Nothing you can do now, or ever for that matter, will make up for his death."

It was then that Prophet made his decision. Once again, he barged his way into Hawk's office with a letter in his hand. Tossing it on Hawk's desk, he simply said "Make sure the Joint Chiefs get this," and walked back out. Hawk opened the letter and quickly read it.

Laurence Barnes was no longer a US Delta Force nanosuit operative.

* * *

**April 7****th**** 2021**

**Britain**

It was another tough pill to swallow, but Psycho was dead. Suicide. Hargreave's doctors and technicians had originally called it a virus that was attacking the Brit's immune system. Turned out it was something completely different.

_Symbiosis._

The word rang inside Prophet's head. Apparently the tech that Hargreave stole from the Ceph a hundred years ago wasn't completely understood. The same thing that made the suits able to work caused the issue with Psycho. The suit had to bond with its wearer to be able to respond and adapt the way it needs to. Like a symbiotic virus that required a host to get it to its preferred host, the suit had begun taking Psycho into itself, integrating his bodily systems into its own. His immune system was simply the first to be damaged enough for it to be noticed.

The techs, as a last resort, had Psycho put his suit back on to be sure. As soon as he did, the suit began to sort it all out. The doctors confirmed it; Psycho could either die a slow painful death at the hands of pneumonia (or something normally non life threatening) or continue living inside the suit. The stubborn bastard chose the third option.

Now Prophet was standing beside his coffin, thinking back on all the missions he had been on with the crazy bastard. Psycho was a good soldier who got mouthy once in a while, but was just as good as the others.

With the funeral service done, Prophet spent the day reflecting on how in the world he hadn't gone through the same _symbiosis_ had Psycho. Maybe it was because he had been grabbed by the Ceph Scout, or maybe it was the two trips through the portal. Or it could only be a matter of time before he came down with the same symptoms.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Over the next two years, Prophet had been closely monitored for signs of symbiosis as well as any other side effects from using the nanosuit. When he wasn't being poked and prodded, he and Gould would get together and go over the data from the suits, Mitchell's included. Gould, while being a biological nanotech researcher, was still able to at least confirm that the Mitchell had used the portal based purely on the data.

Then came the holographic image of New York prophet had seen. Without a base to work from, it was impossible to tell if it was the location of another Ceph stronghold or their planned invasion point. Of course all attempts to get any information from Hargreave was met with a brick wall, as well as what exactly was going into the new suit.

Prophet in the mean time had heard rumors of a CryNet Enforcement Local Logistics Commander trying to shut down the nanosuit program. First back in 2019 before the Ling Shan incident, and shortly after he got back from Ling Shan for the second time. The 2019 attempt was made in front of a Senate subcommittee, which was shot down, and the second was an appeal to the CryNet Board of Directors which also got shot down. With the transcripts redacted, it was impossible to know exactly what was said during those meetings.

In 2022, Prophet was finally declared to be symbiosis free and could move around again. It was also at that time that Gould was let go from Hargreave & Rasch Biomedical, for 'undeclared reasons'. Gould was furious at Hargreave. Apparently the old man was compartmentalizing everything about the newest nanosuit project so that way no one would be able to pull another _Siberian Queen_.

* * *

**July 2****nd****, 2023**

**Prism**

**Roosevelt Island, NY**

It had been awhile since Prophet had walked in these halls that led to Hargreave's office. Wondering what the old man had for him this time trumped his want for answers for what the hell was up with the last two years of near silence. Hargreave barely made contact with Prophet, and had cut all ties with Gould effectively black listing him in the nanotech field.

As soon as he entered the office, Hargreave's image was once again on the giant display behind the desk. As many times as Prophet conversed with the man, he had never once met him face to face.

"I'm glad you could be here Prophet. I have some important news."

"Yeah? Like what?" He mumbled.

"The Nanosuit 2 has been completed, and not a moment too soon. Satellite surveillance of Ling Shan picked up some odd movement where the Mother ship used to be. A reconnaissance drone showed that there appeared to be a tunnel network of some sort beneath the ship."

"Wonderful... So the Ceph could have tunneled all over the world!"

"Precisely... That image you saw of something beneath Manhattan maybe a sign of another buried ship or a colony. I need you to go back to Ling Shan once more Prophet. Find out what we missed, and report back as soon as you can."

Prophet didn't move from his seat, but rather stared blankly at the image of Hargreave. "What about symbiosis? Huh? Or am I just another test subject!"

"Calm down Prophet... We have devised a means to counter the symbiotic nature of the technology... An under suit of sorts will be worn between the wearer and the suit, allowing for fully neural integration but no physical symbiotic measures will take place." Hargreave assured.

Prophet propped his head on hands, with his elbows on the desk in front of him, and began contemplating what Hargreave wanted done.

"Make no mistake Prophet..." Hargreave's voice echoed. "Just because the Mothership is gone does not mean the threat the Ceph pose is as well."

Prophet had already made his decision by the time Hargreave finished speaking.

* * *

**July 12****th****, 2023**

**Ling Shan**

The N2 was nothing at all like the N1. N2 has better energy reserves, power and speed mode combined into one that could be used in conjunction with armor and cloak mode, thicker more durable nanoweave, and to top it off it sped up his reaction times thanks in large part to SECOND's processing capabilities.

After getting acclimated to the new suit and the under layer that went with it, Prophet felt like it was a second skin. He took on scores of tests, logic, mathematical, cryptology, even some quantum stuff, all of which he passed with flying colors while wearing the suit. 'Semi-autonomous Enhanced Combat Ops: Neuro-integration Delivery' or SECOND, changed all the rules for the nanosuit operator.

Going back to Ling Shan for a third time should have made him question his sanity, but SECOND sent a small dose of endorphins to help calm him down. Once again, Prophet was going in by HALO insertion to save time getting to the target site. SECOND analyzed everything he looked at, from the airman who was waiting with him by the door for the go signal, to the wind and cloud patterns in the sky.

Before he realized it, the rear hatch opened up. SECOND began a countdown for an optimal drop and displayed it on his HUD. Right as it hit zero and Prophet was already running out the door, the green light came on. The airman who was watching it was surprised to see Prophet already out the door.

Without waiting for input, SECOND adjusted their free fall route. From the sky, the island looked like a giant sledge hammer was taken to the center mountain and forced back down. It was hard to believe that amongst the rubble that there was a tunnel network. Reading his mind, SECOND highlighted the target area. Sure enough, there was what appeared to be a cave amongst the rocks.

SECOND informed Prophet of when to pull the parachute cords, and immediately gave steering directions to the landing zone. Prophet and the suit could have landed on a dime if they needed to. Once the parachute gear was ditched and the SCAR with a new prototype Gauss attachment was checked Prophet ventured to the cave.

**Six hours later**

The cave system was enormous with branching tunnels that led off to who knows where. SECOND judged the caves floor wear and figured out which one was the most traveled and had Prophet follow that one. Having not come up against the Ceph, Prophet was getting curious about whether or not this was a wild goose chase.

_**/Threat Detected/**_

_Oh shit..._ Prophet thought. Immediately engaging his cloak, he pressed himself up against the wall of the tunnel. Sure enough, a Ceph patrol walked right past him. SECOND took the opportunity to scan them, and compared them to those encountered before. According to the AI, these Ceph Assault Units were the same type that Atlas encountered before. It pointed out their weapons (weaponized plasma) and their weak spot (exposed jelly). Pretty basic information really.

Once the patrol went past, Prophet continued on his journey down the tunnel. An hour later revealed a transport system similar to the one Nomad found in the Mothership. Taking a risk, Prophet cloaked and stepped into the zero gravity vacuum tube.

SECOND kept tabs on how fast they went. 20 miles an hour... 45 miles an hour... 60... 88... 120... 200... 300... The counter finally stopped at 350 miles an hour and stayed there for over four hours. Prophet probably would have fallen asleep, but SECOND kept him wide awake throughout the trip through steady adrenaline doses. When the ride finally started slowing down, Prophet was ready to re-engage the suits cloak.

As soon as he saw the exit, the cloak engaged and SECOND informed him they traveled nearly 2,500 miles and were somewhere between Manila and Hawaii. Setting the information aside for later, Prophet continued his search. The exit for the tube lead into another tunnel system with three forks. With SECOND's analyzations, Prophet continued down the right most one.

An hour and several more patrols avoided later, Prophet found himself in the middle of what could only be described as a barracks. Several Ceph in their natural forms were getting into their exoskeletons in a zero-g environment sphere. The process was not the most pleasing to watch, and Prophet continued onward. The barracks led to a large chamber which at its center held a large holographic representation of Earth. Several locations were highlighted on it, most of which at first glance were major cities. With no Ceph in the room for the moment, Prophet took the chance and walked right up and into the hologram.

_**/Threat Detected/**_

Even with his advanced reflexes and heightened senses, Prophet wasn't able to spot the cloaked Ceph that punched him in the back and was sent flying across the room. Crashing into some console, some strange black liquid seeped onto the suit which Prophet ignored for the time being and reached for his SCAR.

The cloaked Ceph could be heard chittering in the room, but not seen. Switching to thermal vision did not help either. For a second time Prophet was struck from behind, this time when he landed a regular Ceph came over to him and planted its 'foot' on his chest. It fiddled with its claw for a moment and grabbed Prophet's arm with it.

SECOND went crazy.

_**/Warning.../**_

_**/Main systems shut down.../**_

_**/Life support priority.../**_

_**/Alien intrusion.../**_

_**/Bio-Code adaptation parameters engaged.../**_

_**/Base code rewrite rejected.../**_

_**/Systems rerouted.../**_

Whatever the AI did, it caused the Ceph to let go of the suit and began screeching in pain. Thinking quickly, Prophet got up onto his feet and bull rushed into the Ceph. Lowering his shoulder for a greater impact, the Ceph was crushed under the sheer force.

The move had cost Prophet precious energy reserves, and he quickly dove to a nearby console for some cover. No sooner than he had did several plasma bolts flew past him or impacted the console. SECOND worked out where his targets were based on their fire and who knows what else before posting it on a small map it made of the room. Two contacts were by the door he came in, three if you counted the cloaked trooper.

Switching the SCAR to fire the Gauss attachment, Prophet engaged armor mode and stood up from his cover. SECOND's aid in aiming allowed him to fire as soon as he even had the SCAR raised in the Ceph's general direction. The first bolt hit the Ceph hard enough to cause its exoskeleton to blow open and decimate the jelly sack that was the actual Ceph. The occupant dead, the skeleton was forced to fall into its still living teammate from the rounds inertia. That bought Prophet time to let the Gauss launcher to cool and line up the next shot. As soon as SECOND displayed that it was ready, Prophet fired.

Two down, and the cloaked one to go. Prophet began to look for it in the room. As soon as he reached the door he came in from, an alarm began blaring and the door sealed shut. Without thinking, he sprinted to the door on the other side of the room.

Crossing the distance in a couple of heartbeats, Prophet made it through the doorway just before it sealed shut. With no way back, Prophet continued onward down the tunnel. After another hours' worth of walking around and avoiding more patrols, he came up to a junction of the zero-g vacuum tubes. There were eight sets of two arrayed all around him. SECOND didn't say anything for what path he should take either.

Shrugging his shoulders and securing the SCAR, Prophet walked into one at random and hoped for the best.

* * *

**July 18****th****, 2023**

**The Prism**

**Roosevelt Island, New York, USA**

It had taken Prophet several more hours to find a way out from the Ceph tunnels, and while fighting one of their many patrols he discovered a way out. Turned out he was on a remote island in close proximity to the Hawaiian islands. Once he got in contact with Hargreave, he was picked up shortly thereafter and hauled back to the Prism. Yet again the techs had him sit in a cradle to download whatever data he gathered.

Here was the moment of truth though, walking into Hargreave's office, escorted by two CELL goons. Hargreave's face was already on the big screen watching Prophet walk in, and did he ever look ecstatic. As soon as he sat down, Hargreave sent the CELL troopers away.

With the troopers gone, Prophet sat down. "I don't understand what's going on..." He muttered.

"You're in, Prophet. Your suit's learned the Ceph's nanosystems; you've got to go back, you're our best hope." Hargreave pleaded.

Everything clicked for Prophet at that moment. "You... Twisted... MOTHERFUCKER! You KNEW!" Prophet snarled. "You knew the suits were symbiotic! You knew what they'd do to my men! You turned them into dead men walking!"

Hargreave barely reacted, "I turned them into post-human warriors. You're a soldier – think of it as necessary sacrifice."

"YOU LIED TO US!" Prophet slammed his nanosuited hand onto the desk, causing everything to jump up.

"Perhaps I was economical with the truth, yes-" Hargreave waved his hand, "but what choice did I have? What choice do you have now? The Ceph are coming, Prophet. Soon. You think we'll defeat them with ordinary human soldiers?" Hargreave accused "This isn't a war ordinary humans can win! This is the future – Death's an inconvenience now, nothing more. We are all dead men walking!"

Having heard enough of Hargreave's bull shit, Prophet put his mask back on and stormed out of the office.

"Where are you going Prophet? Prophet? PROPHET!"

The CELL security idiots that were stationed outside the office came in guns raised and shouting orders to him to stand down. Prophet ignored them up until they tried firing into his legs. SECOND activated armor mode to absorb the damage while Prophet beat them down. That's when the alarm went off. Grabbing the guards' weapons, Prophet began to work his way out of the Prism.

* * *

**A/N: Using what information was available, this was the second hardest part to write. CryTek was/is incredibly vague on what happens during the three years between the games, and using the information available I came up with this. **

**Before you get angry with me killing off Psycho, it is heavily implied in Crysis 2 that all of Raptor team (save Prophet) was dead due to the symbiosis. **

**It's kind of ironic when an OC I made before Crysis 2 even was released helps to set up its plot.**


	20. Deadman Walking, Part VI

**ME:TUH**

**Chapter 15.6 : Dead Men Walking**

**(Chapter 20 on FF)**

* * *

**A/N: Alright, this summary is for the events of Crysis 2. Obviously it is a very short summary, since there is already a story written about it. If you haven't yet, I suggest you read Crysis:Legion as it tells the story of Crysis 2 from Alcatraz's perspective and gives you more details than the game.**

**Again, IF YOU'VE PLAYED CRYSIS 2 OR READ CRYSIS:LEGION, THIS CHAPTER CAN BE SKIPPED.**

* * *

The vid screen went blank again for the Normandy crew, all of whom turned to look at the nanosuited figure in the cradle. Before anyone could ask, why Prophet spoke up, "I just need a moment people... Running down memory lane like that... It takes a lot of concentration..." Even through the nanosuit, it was obvious his breathing was labored.

"Then why don't you stop? I think we all have a solid idea of who you are..." John asked.

"Because Shepard... This next part of the story is the most important part..." With that, Prophet seemed to relax again while the vid screen popped back up.

* * *

**USS Nautilus**

**Hudson River, NY**

**August 23****rd****, 2023**

As the stealth insertion submarine made its way up the Hudson River, Marine Force Recon Extraction team Omega-One sat waiting for orders to deploy. Their target was a Dr. Nathan Gould, and the situation in Manhattan was a certified charlie-foxtrot. A deadly virus made an appearance three days ago on the island and was exacerbated by the CELL forces deployed. None of that was a concern for the Marine known as Alcatraz, who had taken a few drinks of tequila to help with his slight fear of water.

Just as they were given the order to begin gearing up, something scrapped along the side of the sub causing a hull breach. Not wasting time, the FRE team immediately made their way through the sub to get to an exit hatch. The hull breach was proving to be bad enough to have already partially flooded several compartments. After opening bulkhead that was completely submerged, the team found and swam through the breach.

Alcatraz was already having difficulty holding his breath in when they exited the sub proper, and his lungs were begging to let the air they held out as he oriented himself to swim to the surface. The harder he swam, the surface didn't seem to be getting any closer and his vision was darkening quickly from lack of fresh air.

Just before his view became completely black, his head finally broke through the surface of the water. Taking in as much of the sweet air as possible, Alcatraz began looking around, finding all of his team around him save one; Chino.

Surveying the rest of the area though made it seem like New York was a war zone more so than a bio-hazard zone. Bodies of the dead were floating in the river, some kind of puss or fluid coming from them, several buildings on fire and damaged, even the Statue of Liberty had taken a significant beating.

Dazed and confused, the FRE team was even more shocked when something began stirring in the water below them.

The _thing_ happened to surface right below Alcatraz, and it sent him flying several feet into the air. When he came back down into the water, the _thing_ was was firing at them! It was firing energy rounds, like it was from some sci-fi movie, and it was tearing his team apart. Alcatraz begin swimming in a serpentine pattern to get to the shore, but the damn _gunship_ wasn't fooled.

Alcatraz knew he'd been hit and bad as he floated to the shoreline. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he could hear the rest of his team getting slaughtered. What came next was unexpected. The loud thumping of a heavy machine gun was enough to bring Alcatraz around to see what looked like a humanoid robot firing an HMG, which normally had to be mounted on a vehicle, with its bare hands at the gunship. A few bursts of very accurate fire and the gunship was hit. The robot threw the HMG down, and came over to inspect Alcatraz

Then it _spoke _to him. _"Where's my support?... Where's the sub?... Fucking Ceph took you all out?... That can't be... Gould's counting on us"_ If Alcatraz could have answered he would have, but he had just as many questions if not more of his own. _"Alcatraz? That your name? Alcatraz... Destiny's a bitch, huh? It'll be on your now, son..."_ Those were the last words Alcatraz heard before darkness over took him.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Waking up was not something Alcatraz expected to be doing. Neither was seeing himself inside the robot he saw earlier take down the gunship. That's when _it_ spoke up

_**/Integrating new DNA profile. Initializing.../**_

Standing up and examining himself, Alcatraz suddenly found his vision swarming with a shitton of checklists and other sets of data. On top of that, Alcatraz felt pretty damn good; like he never even got shot. When all of the checklists went away, he was presented with a HUD that was similar to some video games he played. A map in one corner of his vision and an energy meter in the other. Walking around in the getup took some getting used to, as he pseudo limped around.

That's when he spotted the prone form of a body in what appeared to be a silver body suit. There was a pistol next to the body on the ground with a table nearby. There were rather large blood spots all over, but the man who laid before him only had one bullet wound. As he bent over to pick up the pistol, Alcatraz found himself with a large headache as a message played for him. The message, which felt more like a memory, was obviously left for him when he woke up.

"_Alcatraz... This is all I can do. It's all I can do for any of us..."_ The voice was the same one he heard down by the river. An image of Alcatraz's body with an overlay stating HEALTH: CRITICAL showed up. _"You're my last shot here. Gould's last chance. Last chance for all of us."_ The next images showed the voice's owner bringing him to the building they were in and removing his mask. Sure enough, the body on the ground face matched the one in the video but his face was covered in the same stuff he saw on the bodies in the harbor along with legions. _"I'm used up, I'm a dead man walking. I'm... Contaminated. But you... You can finish this thing... You have to! Welcome to the future son. Welcome to the war." _Brief images of the guy taking off the suit and then being put onto Alcatraz's body flashed by. _"Oh yeah... One last wish..."_ The images changed to show the man looking out the window with his back to the camera/suit. _"It won't let me go that easily. Symbiosis. Gotta break the link... I gave you the suit. Gave you my life. Promise me... Find Gould... It's all I can do now... You are all I can do..."_The man turned around and raised the pistol to his head. _"They used to call me Prophet... Remember me..."_

The sound of the gunshot brought Alcatraz back to the present. Whatever computer system controlled the suit brought up stats on the pistol he was carrying as well as directions to find this Gould character. Seeing as he wasn't going to get answers from the dead guy in front of him, he went along with it. As he worked his way through the building, which was apparently being used to store full body bags, the suit picked up transmissions from a military group talking about the bodies of his FRE team. Apparently a couple of them were still alive, and a certain _Lockhart_ wanted something really bad.

After he worked his way through some kind of lab, another transmission came in. Lo and behold from his target, Gould who tried warning him of CELL groups coming for him and to find the Marines. Trying to reply, Alcatraz found he simply could not talk and chalked it up to some vocal cord damage

Just when Alcatraz thought he could go no further due to a collapsed walkway in the building, the suit told him how to 'power jump'. Taking a chance, Alcatraz went for it. The maneuver cost him some energy, but he made it across the chasm.

Working his way out, the suit's computer effectively gave him a brief tutorial on its finer points. On the roof, he managed to use the suits built in binoculars to scout the park below. With only two CELL operatives and some ammo crates nearby, it was easy pickings for the Force Recon Marine armed with only a pistol. As he progressed forward under the suit's guidance, he discovered the cloaking mode which made him and the gear he carried nearly invisible. Using it to his advantage, he cleared out more of the CELL troops throughout the park, who he found through some recordings were being a tad bit overaggressive in carrying out their duties. Before he took a pair out, he found out why CELL wanted Prophet. He had killed a good number of their little private-sector army before 'donating' the suit to Alcatraz.

Once he got out of the park and into the city proper, it was like it was just simply abandoned. Walking between abandoned cars, tractor-trailers a loud buzzing noise caught his attention. The source of it was a flying ship similar to the one he saw in the river, only this one had racks at the back of it. Gould called in again and told him to stick to the subways. Getting there though proved to be difficult with numerous CELL squads in the way. The suit then took the opportunity to demonstrate its armor function. At the cost of using energy, it made Alcatraz nearly invulnerable to the sub-machine gun fire of the CELL squad.

With that squad behind him, Alcatraz next had to move through a plaza where a couple squads of CELL troops were gathered. They had created a crater in the plaza and lit a fire to burn the bodies in it. While they were occupied, Alcatraz borrowed some of their grenades and stealthed his way to the subway.

That turned out to be slightly worse than being above ground. There was a plethora of infected people mixed in with the decomposing dead. Gould even called in to inform Alcatraz as much with there being dozens of heat signatures below him. While he was wondering what on Earth those signatures could be, Alcatraz got his answer. A lone CELL soldier was firing his SMG at overgrown metallic ticks, which tried jabbing him with their pincers. Whatever they had, a few pricks and the CELL soldier was down. Leaving the ticks to their own devices, Alcatraz found a collapsed section of the subway station and crawled up into the building above.

Now somewhere in the Financial District, the suit picked up some more unsecured chatter from a CELL unit. The buzzing noise sounded off again as he made his way through the office building. Coming into a large room with windows all along the wall showed the some of the action as a fireball streaked by and hit a crosswalk that connected the building Alcatraz was in and the one across the street. Soon after a second fireball went by. Trying to get a better view, he went over by the crosswalk. As soon as he did something came plowing through it. Luckily the suit activated the armor function which protected him from falling to the street below.

Looking up, Alcatraz saw it was a gunship like he saw before that carried some kind of pods on the back. Following almost immediately behind it were two AH-54's with mini-guns blazing. One of them fired a missile, which must have struck something important as the gunship banked hard left and crashed through a building and landed not far from his position.

Naturally Gould called in and told Alcatraz the same thing but expanded with saying samples from the crash could be _"... our best shot at rolling back the spore, maybe the whole invasion even."_ The only problems that arose were from various CELL squads Alcatraz encountered on his way through a parking structure. With some creative uses for the cars and grenades, it was merely a setback. Once at a nice outdoor section of the parking ramp, he got a good look at what this Lockhart character sent to the crash site.

At least a platoon's worth of soldiers with several vehicles surrounded the site, making a direct assault nearly impossible. That's when the suit gave Alcatraz numerous tactical options for taking out the patrolling CELL units. With the initial bulk taken care of, Alcatraz was free to move on to the crash site. The gunship was in ruins and whatever the pods were carrying dropped out into the parking structure underneath. Of course that's where the samples Gould needed were.

After dropping down an elevator shaft and crawling through some flooded maintenance tunnels, Alcatraz was rewarded with a veritable shit-ton of goo. Apparently touching the stuff with his hand was all that was needed to get a sample, the suit doing all the work. Gould then after seeing what the suit analyzed told Alcatraz that what he was looking at was all liquefied human remains. If he could throw up, Alcatraz was sure he would but the suit seemed to block that from happening. Walking up out of the destroyed underground parking structure, he was greeted by something he never thought he would ever see.

An alien. An honest to god, not of this planet, living being. It leaped from an outcropping of the destroyed plaza and on top of Alcatraz, forcing him back. Up close, he could see that the alien was a combination of a jelly sack with tentacles coming out the back and an armored exoskeleton. Before he could get further the alien stabbed one of its claws into his chest.

_**/Nanoshell intrusion detected./**_

That's when his HUD began going crazy and sparks started flying from where the aliens arm and his suit met.

_**/Rejecting... Insufficient common code.../**_

The alien pulled back its sparking arm and looked at it quizzically for a moment before running off somewhere. Recollecting himself, Alcatraz began taking note of his surroundings for any more aliens. Sure enough, there were four others like the one he encountered running around trying to find the best cover. As soon as he would move to engage one, the others would open fire on him from wherever they were.

When playing Marine-in-the-middle got to be too boring for Alcatraz, he grabbed some of his grenades and chucked them at the aliens behind cover. That distracted them while he bagged one of the other ones. Continuing this process, the four aliens were neutralized. What they left behind instead of guts though was something else. At Gould's beckoning, Alcatraz sampled the material.

_**/Alien tissue detected... Interface enabled.../**_

The suits HUD went crazy displaying a bunch of DNA sequences and odd hexagon symbols in a strange pattern.

_**/Alien tissue absorbed... Processing.../**_

The HUD changed once more, showing a list of different options that he could specialize within the suit. How the alien tissue managed to enable that function was beyond Alcatraz, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth when it came to improving the suits performance. It was great so far, but the options presented made it that much better.

Making a quick selection for one the 'upgrade' slots, Alcatraz was then sent to the FDR by Gould to finally execute the pickup he and his team were supposed to do. On his way, he encountered several squads of CELL engaging these aliens. While they did, he took the opportunity to observe the aliens tactics and to use the suit binoculars to scan them. Most of the aliens were being designated as Grunt's, with a couple Stalkers. The Grunts acted like typical frontline soldiers, firing whenever possible and taking cover, while the Stalkers were more agile and seemed to prefer CQC fighting.

After a while, when there were no immediate threats in the area, the suit went weird again.

_**/Processing alien tissue... Assimilating biocode.../**_

The same hexagonal pattern showed up briefly along with a spiral structure

_**/Assimilation complete... Rewriting deep layer protocols.../**_

Whatever that meant, and it meant nothing to Alcatraz, must have been important enough for Gould to call in and tell him that the 'suit signal was going crazy' along with 'some kind of contingency routine built into the suits deep layers'. Naturally Gould urged him to get to the lab by taking the FDR, and the suit plotted the course. Gould continued telling Alcatraz about how CELL was setting up roadblocks all over the road, and that Lockhart was overseeing it himself.

Coming up into another abandoned building, Alcatraz was treated a ring side seat of Lockhart and a brunette, who he referred to as Ms. Strickland, having a heated argument about the orders to bring 'Prophet' in. Lockhart simply wanted 'Prophet', now really Alcatraz, dead while Strickland wanted him brought in alive to be taken to see Hargreave.

Once the lovely couple got into a waiting helo, Alcatraz went through the usual routine. Use the binoculars to scout the area, tag the locations of enemies, and began bringing them down one by one. Using the L-Train tracks for sniping positions, he was able to clear out the squad left in place.

Up on FDR drive though was another story. Just as he got onto the road proper, a couple of humvees rolled up and parked right behind a semi that blocked the entire road. Rather than fighting them head on, Alcatraz used the cloak to sneak past them and continue down the road. Naturally it wouldn't be that easy. He ran into another squad, which had a mounted HMG and a helo circling above keeping tabs on him, most likely using thermal imaging.

While fighting, the suit managed to pick up a radio transmission from Strickland attempting to place Lockhart's kill order on him on hold. The squad she ordered refused to listen, and continued fighting him. Needless to say it didn't end well for them.

With that squad done for, Alcatraz continued until the suit actually took control and stopped him from moving. The ground began shaking like an earthquake and not less than a foot in front of him the raised section of the FDR collapsed. Earthquakes shouldn't be possible in New York, but it was kind of hard to doubt the evidence. The collapse of the FDR and some surrounding buildings kicked up a thick dust cloud. While possible to see normally, the suit activated its own thermal imaging. This was an advanced version since it only highlighted body heat and kept the other surrounding heat signatures in a gray scale.

The combination of the dust, cloaking, and thermal imaging allowed Alcatraz to again sneak by a CELL patrol without them even knowing he was there. Once he got past the section of the FDR that collapsed, he faced a thorough blockade complete with an IFV guarding the road. The IFV's light cannon and missile pods would tear through the suit with ease, but Gould actually proved useful and found another IFV parked nearby for Alcatraz to use down the rest of the FDR.

With some more stealth work and kills down, Alcatraz made it to the IFV. Once inside, the suit managed to link completely into the vehicles systems, allowing him to drive and fire with ease. Gunning the throttle, he broke through the wall the vehicle was parked behind and quickly unleashed a quartet of rockets at the opposing IFV.

With that roadblock down, and the small arm's fire from the rest of the CELL squads, Alcatraz began his trek down the FDR in his new ride. Of course Gould broke that bit of fun with the news that his lab was finally found, but for Alcatraz to continue as planned anyway. Rolling down the FDR, he encountered numerous attempts for CELL roadblocks which were taken care of with a few rounds from the light cannon as well as a helicopter that thought its door gunner would be enough.

With a trail of destruction behind him, Alcatraz finally got to the end of the road. The entrance for the pier where Gould's lab was crawling with CELL, and apparently Gould screwed up once again by leaving the address for their next meet up point in the labs computers. Opting for the stealth approach, meaning a silenced sniper rifle he 'acquired', Alcatraz managed to create enough distractions to simultaneously stay hidden, pick off CELL troops, and move across to the building where the lab was.

Inside the building, he took an elevator up a couple levels and found a trio of CELL goons looking through the computers. Three snapped necks and a shotgunned computer stack later, Alcatraz began to walk out.

Only for three shotgun wielding CELL idiots to open fire on him from the elevator. Ducking back into the lab and throwing a grenade took care of them, but Alcatraz found the stairwell to be locked down, even his enhanced strength unable to break the door. The sound of breaking glass and helo rotors brought his attention upwards as more CELL began rappelling down from the sky light and a helo began opening fire into the lab to keep him pinned.

Liberal use of grenades, armor mode, and a rocket launcher lifted from one of the dead CELL goons brought down the threats fast enough, but caused the helo to crash into a nearby crane and then the lab. Picking himself up and following Gould's directions to the apartment complex, Alcatraz got going.

A couple blocks, a busted open door, and an elevator ride later he was at the apartment. Still unable to speak to Gould, who wasn't bothered by his silence, Alcatraz followed Gould's directions to sit in what he called a cradle. It looked like a recliner that formed to the body completely. Gould was going on and on the entire time talking about some spore, how it matched the base structure of the nano-weave, about how bad CELL's been fucking things up in combination with the Ceph, and just on and on and on.

When the suit and the cradle finally made the connection, Gould's computers lit up.

_**/Nano-protocols engaged... Scanning primary.../**_

Whatever popped up on Gould's display finally made things click. Pulling out a gun from underneath the desk and pointing it at Alcatraz, he demanded answers. The suit was only too happy to oblige as it opened the same memory file Alcatraz saw earlier depicting Prophet's suicide, and kept replaying Prophet's last words.

Gould flinched at the first gunshot and sat back into his chair, disbelief all over his face. When it replayed for a second time, he got up and walked out into the hall. The suit disengaged the connection to the computer and allowed Alcatraz to get up and follow Gould. Gould then went on a rant about how he wasn't a spec-ops hard-man like Prophet was and how he was only a 'geek conspiracy nut'. Going into a corner room, Alcatraz saw a number of tanks with squid and octopi in them that surrounded a smart table and a hanging display. That's when Gould laid the basics of the situation in New York out. The aliens he saw and fought evolved from something similar to early cephalopods, and were being called Ceph as such. They were apparently using some kind of spore to attack humans en masse, and before he offed himself, Prophet told Gould he had found an answer to it.

Gould's computer then rang out.

_/Scan complete/_

_/Warning: Un-calibrated nano-routines detected. Alien tissue vector, 21%/_

Gould then went on to tell Alcatraz how the suit was made out of a self-repairing, semi-organic, nano-weave patented by the Hargreave-Rasch Corporation and how Prophet was a spec-ops soldier recruited by Hargreave himself to wear the suit but went AWOL. When Prophet came back, he was different. With a scan completed, Gould showed him that something was happening in the suits deep layers. The best Gould could come up with was that it was living code and it was rewriting itself to accommodate something new and his best guess was that it was the raw bio-code for a vaccine against the spore.

Of course, Gould needed a closer look and the cradle he had wasn't strong enough. The only one that was up on Roosevelt Island. That's when a bullet broke through the window and hit one of the aquariums, killing an octopus inside. Looking out the window, Alcatraz saw a couple CELL on the opposite roof while the hanging display showed some more breaking in through the ground floor.

Crawling their way out of the room, Gould beckoned Alcatraz to take care of the guys inside while he took the fire escape. Breaking into the next door apartment, Alcatraz proceeded to clean house. As he did, a CELL rappeller came through a window. Grabbing him, Alcatraz carried them both through the window as he fell. A brief fight in midair left Alcatraz on top when they hit the top of a semi-trailer some eight stories later. The combination of the CELL beneath him and the suits armor mode kept Alcatraz somewhat safe. The suit lost some functionality for a time but it was quickly restored.

When the suit rebooted itself, Gould came on to tell Alcatraz about how he learned the CELL he just eliminated were planning on taking him to a command post on Wall Street. Gould knew the place and was sure it would have a deep scan capable cradle. So, Alcatraz began to make his way to Wall Street. Gould then said they would have to use an underground tunnel that came up by the Wall Street church.

As he made his way, Alcatraz naturally ran into a CELL checkpoint. Before he could engage them, some Ceph Stalkers did the work for him while he sat back and picked off targets on whatever side was stronger. With them down and the checkpoint bypassed, Alcatraz got a call from Gould asking for a diversion to get past security. Scouting out the church from across the street, Alcatraz saw exactly what he wanted to do. CELL had two fuel and ammo depots in the church's courtyards. Cloaking his way in, he set some C4 charges on both depots and backed off a safe distance.

The resulting explosion created a storm over the CELL radio network which Alcatraz caught everything of. Using the distraction himself, he slipped down to the rear of the church and snuck into the underground tunnel. The tunnel led up to a building that was kitty-corner from the command post, and after taking an elevator up to a level that Gould told him would give him a great view, Alcatraz was again ready to wreak some havoc. The level had its corner blown open and provided at least a 270 degree view of the area below him. Naturally CELL operatives were all over the place, one squad on the roof to his right and another on the target building while a third squad was below with vehicle support. The roof top squads had sniper positions, but they didn't have the high ground.

Attaching a silencer to his own sniper rifle, Alcatraz was able to pick off the squads one by one without them ever getting a bead on his position. When he ran out of ammo for his rifle, he followed the suit's instructions. He engaged armor mode and fell at least ten stories to the glass overhang below. The impact caused the glass to crack but not break. From there he jumped across to the roof that was his left. He hopped over to another roof, which was more like a courtyard, and followed some stairs that lead to an overhead walkway.

As he walked across, a helo came on station and dropped off some more CELL troops. Then it pinpointed Alcatraz and opened fire. Dodging enemy fire left and right, he managed to kill a CELL soldier who had a rocket launcher, and used it to neutralize the helo. With the roof top clear, he busted his way down the building and met up with Gould who was waiting for him just outside the doors to cradle room.

Gould opened the door, and there was only one tech in the room. Pistol in hand, Gould ordered the tech to open up the cradle room doors and to get the system powered up. Stepping in, Alcatraz sat down in the cradle chair as the tech prepped the system. The suits HUD went wonky again as it acknowledged the system link

_/Nano-protocols engaged. Scanning primary./_

The glass that separated the cradle room from the rest of the area then lit up as it showed the results of the scans. What the tech and Alcatraz saw was not pretty.

"Ballistic trauma to heart and both lungs, looks like the right ventricle took most of the damage there... Lungs ruptured at multiple locations, broken ribs at... Well take your pick- third, fourth, fifth... Got a flail chest segment right there, extensive pulmonary bruising... More ballistic trauma to the sternum, the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae... He's a corpse walking Gould!"

Despite all of that, Gould didn't look that interested, even when the tech found that the suit itself was growing into the wounds. He simply wanted the deep layers scanned.

As the scan began, Alcatraz blacked out... Sort of... He was shown Prophet's memory of finding what was left of his Force Recon team and fighting off the Ceph gunship. He could hear in the background the tech screaming about how the systems were being overloaded. Gould surmised it was sending out a broadcast. An explosion threw Gould off balance right before a big and pissed off Lockhart came storming in. A solid right punch to the jaw and a face slam into the glass later, Gould was down. Lockhart glared into the cradle room right at Alcatraz as he ordered the room opened.

As Lockhart stepped into the room and began mocking him, Alcatraz found he couldn't do anything. The suit was on the fritz from whatever happened a few seconds ago. Just as Lockhart pulled a gun and pressed it against the nanosuits visor, the voice of Ms. Strickland came to the rescue. She convinced Lockhart to stand down since 'Prophet' was disabled.

Grudgingly, Lockhart complied and instead he flipped a switch on the cradle which powered down most of the suits functions. After getting up, which proved to be a huge task itself, Alcatraz was 'guided' out of the build by Lockhart who had a rifle with a Gauss attachment on its end. While on the way out, Strickland and Gould made small talk about Gould's conspiracies and her father. She took that comment a little hard as she slammed a glass door open, shattering its pane.

When the group got into the main hall, another earthquake started to hit. Rushing out of the building, a helicopter was waiting for them. Lockhart shoved Alcatraz into it and ordered it to take him to the Prism for Hargreave while Lockhart got into his own humvee and Strickland and Gould got their own. As the helo began taking off, the earthquake picked up intensity. The pilot gunned the engines to lift faster, but the true source of the earthquakes was too fast.

A giant spire rose out from the building they were just in, and on its ascent it clipped the rotors. Since the AH-50 used dual counter-rotating blades, the damage caused the helo to go into a downward spin. The centrifugal force caused one of Alcatraz's guards to be flung out while it was still fairly high up. The helo then crashed into one of the buildings nearby forcing Alcatraz out to fall roughly fifty feet to the pavement.

After blacking out for a few moments, Alcatraz came to and found a couple CELL soldiers moving past him to investigate the spire. The spire itself rose a solid 100 feet into the air and several parts of it were in motion; like it was prepping something.

Sure enough, a second later a black cloud erupted from the spire. The suit went crazy once again as the hexagonal and spiral patterns showed up. The spiral pattern this time shifted into something resembling a strand of DNA while several sections of it turned red.

The CELL troops during this were seemingly being wrapped up by the black cloud before they started coughing and dropping to their knees.

_**/Epidermal damage... Seek distance from heat source.../**_

On his back, Alcatraz began pushing himself away from the spire as best he could.

_**/Systems Recovery... Corrosive Agents isolated.../**_

The buzzing sound of a nearby drop ship could be heard as the suit suddenly shocked Alcatraz using its defibrillator. Apparently while his heart was severely damaged, the suit still needed it pumping. It took two shocks for the suit to reestablish Alcatraz's heart rhythm.

_**/Base functions impaired... Re-routing primary power systems... Please wait.../**_

The gunship that Alcatraz heard earlier fly overhead and dropped off several Ceph. Alcatraz was helpless while the drop pods opened up and the Ceph Grunts began walking closer to him. Then out of now where some CELL troops showed up to fight back, buying Alcatraz and the suit precious time.

The three CELL soldiers put up a decent fight but where cut down just before the suit gave Alcatraz the all clear to kick some ass. As he did, the suit's computer kept him informed of what it was doing.

_**/Calculating escape route... Waypoint updated.../**_

Except this time there was no way point for Alcatraz to follow. So he kept doing what he did best, killing enemy targets.

_**/Nano-spore infestation critical... Nano-systems impaired.../**_

The Ceph never stopped coming, and Alcatraz was having a tough time finding ammo for the weapons he took from the dead bodies of the CELL squads he took care of earlier.

_**/Infestation terminal... Switching to core function mode.../**_

Alcatraz then lost his biggest advantage in the suit; armor mode.

_**/Life support priority... Infestation terminal.../**_

Ducking in and out of cover, he made due with what was available. When the suit finally came up with an escape route, he went for it. As he ran, a drop pod was launched through the air and landed a few feet in front of him. The impact threw Alcatraz onto his back as a new type of Ceph unit emerged and did it look mean.

The best way to describe it was as a walking tank. Heavily armored and armed, it had a giant cannon on its left and a bigger version of the plasma guns the Grunts used on its right. Before Alcatraz could even lift up his gun, the tank fired it's cannon at his feet. The impact hit right at a man hole and before he blacked out again, Alcatraz felt himself sliding down into the larger hole made in its place.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_**/Infestation contained... Re-booting core functions.../**_

_**/Alien tissue vector isolated... Retained at deep layer.../**_

_**/Processing.../**_

_**/Nano-form analysis underway... Compatibility register enabled.../**_

_**/Processing.../**_

_**/Compiling profile.../**_

_**/Nano-catalyst viability assessment underway.../**_

_**/Processing.../**_

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Alcatraz when he woke up was greeted by several things. The first were a number of ticks trying to get past the suit. The second was the suits computer informing him of the primary power systems being rerouted. Kicking off the ticks, Alcatraz wondered how many times the suit has had to reroute its power. Still getting his bearings a new voice popped in through the comm suite.

"_Alright... I'm getting a limited feed from your suit son, but for now it'll have to do... I don't believe we've been introduced... Jack Hargreave... At your service... I don't doubt Nathan Gould will have mentioned my name, but I'm bound to assume he didn't have much good to say about me. But we have other more pressing concerns right now. We have to get you weaponized and up to speed."_

Thus began Alcatraz's new journey. Hargreave led the Marine through what could only be described as Ceph central. Ticks were everywhere liquefying the dead and the landscape of that part of the city was just completely destroyed. Right before Alcatraz reached City Hall, he went through an EMAT evac area. Dozens of infected were simply lying around waiting to die while dozens if not hundreds more bodies were in body bags.

Leaving the site behind him, Alcatraz pressed on through what used to be City Hall. While walking through what was left of the building, Hargreave went on about how the Ceph found a way to dispose of the bodies left behind and likened it to a mad cow disease outbreak.

On the other side of the hall, whatever the Ceph were up to, it involved a lot of redecorating the area by demolishing buildings and using some giant armored tube. Hargreave informed Alcatraz that if he ever wondered what an alien world might look like, he was seeing it right before him. The path Hargreave had laid out for Alcatraz of course forced him to engage several squads of Ceph. Using stealth where possibly, Alcatraz made excellent time up until a drop ship fired off four pods.

Three grunts and a walking tank the suit called a Devastator popped out. Thankfully, there was a HMG mounted on a barricade nearby that Alcatraz used. A few bursts from the high caliber gun tore apart the Grunts while the Devastator took the rest of the damn ammo box.

As Alcatraz continued on the path Hargreave marked for him, his temporary guide informed him of the DoD's decision to bomb the Rawson Flood Barrier to wipe out the Ceph. Common sense aside, Hargreave urged Alcatraz to get to the alien structure post haste. Working his way through a destroyed subway tunnel was interesting to say in the least. The darkness helped to conceal Alcatraz as he fought the couple of Ceph squads he encountered and didn't run into anything major.

After finding some scanning equipment left behind from one of Hargreave's supposed best men, Alcatraz continued on out of the subway tube. Once out of the subway, the site before Alcatraz's eyes was something else entirely. There were giant metal tubes running all over the place, along with Ceph and some kind of hub. Hargreave naturally likened the Ceph's renovating as a coral ecology.

Naturally after his little speech, Hargreave informed Alcatraz that he had to find a way to sabotage the entire spire, and to do that he had to get up close and personal with three hubs. All of which were surrounded by Ceph.

Pushing his ninja skills to the limits, Alcatraz was able to do just that with the first two hubs. All he had to do was punch through the glass like material that held the black spore substance and moved on. The third one though looked to be more interesting. For one there wasn't as much cover for him to hide and recharge his energy levels, Second, there were numerous Grunts, a Devastator, and what the suit called a Ceph Commander Grunt.

And apparently the Commander variety was more aware of its surroundings than its lower brethren. Caught in mid step, Alcatraz quickly switched to armor mode and unloaded into the Commander which in turn activated some kind of red energy field. Forgoing that option, Alcatraz turned his fire on the other grunts first and laid out some C4 packs he picked up.

Playing cat and mouse with the Devastator and the Commander once the other grunts were down worked out nicely as they both stopped on top of the C4. One explosion and a third destroyed hub later, Alcatraz was in business as a side door into the spire opened up. Against his better judgment, Alcatraz stepped inside the spire as Hargreave ordered.

As soon as the black cloud of spores hit the suit, the HUD went crazy like it had before. Except this time the spore cloud seem to draw him and the suit deeper into the spire. Looking at his arms and hands, Alcatraz could see the suit literally smoking while Hargreave merely watched through his data feed.

_**/Nano-spore infestation: filtering... Seeking interface.../**_

"_Excellent... Recognition... Communication... Exchange... The protocols __**are**__ compatible..."_

All the while, Alcatraz and the suit were rising through the tower. The hexagonal figure showed up, but was rearranged while the DNA strand had even more red in its structure. Alcatraz was then sent flying up the spire like a bullet and out a hatch. Landing on a partially destroyed and dangerously slanting road, he recovered enough to gain some footing before falling well over a hundred feet below to where he started.

Once Alcatraz got back up on his feet, Hargreave informed Alcatraz of the DoD's final decision to bomb the flood barrier. Running like never before, Alcatraz made for the helicopter LZ Hargreave had prepped. He had the chopper in sight, but right behind the chopper was a wall of water over eight stories high. Before he even had a chance to jump for it, the helo pilot took off to save his own neck leaving Alcatraz on the street to get pummeled by the wave and the debris it brought with it.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_**/Alien tissue vector analysis complete.../**_

_**/Nano-form profiling complete.../**_

_**/Compatibility registration underway.../**_

_**/Processing... 76%.../**_

_**/Locking protocol will be required.../**_

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

When Alcatraz came around from his little swim, the suit informed him it was August 24th and in Madison Square Park, what was left of it anyway as it was rebooting its systems. Off in the distance he could hear some men talking about Gould and a tracking gizmo, along with a warning about movement. Amidst the Ceph chittering, plasma bursts, and gunfire Alcatraz heard a voice he thought was long gone.

"Alcatraz!" Chino called out as he blasted a Ceph that got past his squads firing line. Handing his now nanosuited squad mate a Majestic revolver, he helped him up. With some comments about how Alcatraz went shopping without him, Chino and his team began heading out towards an exfil point. With the flood barrier bombed out, the city was in shambles. As the squad moved on, they encountered a couple Ceph. Alcatraz went up high to provide sniper support, having pilfered one from an ammo crate, making quick work of them. Alcatraz helped his fellow Marines up until a gunship showed up. With no heavy weapons, they all made for an destroyed building for cover.

With no means of fighting through, Chino asked Alcatraz to be a distraction and continue on the planned route while the squad took a new route. Progressing on, it became commonplace to see cars and other objects where they normally shouldn't have been. What took the cake though was a goddamned oil tanker in the middle of the city! Again using it for sniper position, Alcatraz was able to help the Marines at the rally point defend against the Ceph. This time when a gunship showed up, there was enough heavy weaponry available to take it down with impunity just in time for Chino to show up.

Then Hargreave piped back up. Apparently in order to weaponize the suit against the Ceph spores, a stabilizing agent was needed. That agent could only be found in the Hargreave-Rasch building which was under lockdown. So Alcatraz and Chino took a squad on a side trip to West 36th Street. Naturally Ceph were involved, but were taken care of primarily by Alcatraz and his now favorite sniper rifle. Using an ICV turret to blow open the garage door, Chino told Alcatraz that the squad would hold the perimeter while he went inside.

Going in solo against a whole section of CELL operatives wasn't that high on Alcatraz's bucket list, but he went ahead anyway. Even with all the fire power they stacked against him, including a new gun that instantly zapped his energy reserves, 'Hazel' section was done for. Hargreave directed Alcatraz to the main desk to override the buildings lock down. The lobby's outside wall was primarily made of a Hargreave-Rasch material known as nanoglass, which was holding back three stories of water. As soon as he pressed a single key, a larger than life (but not ego) video feed of Lockhart showed up on the nanoglass and unsurprisingly ordered his men to take Alcatraz down.

Hargreave had a few words with the Commander, but apparently the CryNet board switched to Lockhart's point of view. While the two of them bickered, Alcatraz jumped behind the desk and prepped for whatever ambush was supposed to happen.

Under cloak, the CELL troops sent in for the failed ambush had no idea where Alcatraz was until it was too late. With another CELL section taken care of and Lockhart's face gone from the nanoglass, Alcatraz again attempted to access the building's security. As he followed the suits instructions, he saw something moving in the water outside. Naturally the nanoglass, which had taken some fire during the brief skirmish, began to crack and let water in. The thing that was moving in the water began glowing red and let out some kind of pulse that completely shattered the glass.

As the water rushed in, the thing walked away, and Alcatraz swam out of the building onto 'land'. Chino radioed telling Alcatraz to meet the squad at Central Station. Hargreave voiced his complaints about Lockhart's 'palace revolution', and to help the Marines out while he dealt with Lockhart. So Alcatraz ran through a small ravine, following the suits way points.

Along the way, he heard Marines fighting the Ceph. Reaching an alley way that led into a corner restaurant, he saw what was in the water earlier. A tri-pod walker, with a delta shaped head and a plasma chain gun in its chin. Figuring it may have a weak backside, Alcatraz cloaked and tried to flank it to use some of his stashed C4. The walker had other plans as it let loose another pulse which depleted his energy.

So began a game of cat and mouse between the walker and Alcatraz. While Alcatraz used the suits power mode to sprint circles around the walker, the Marines would fire whatever they could into something that was on its back. Finally, Alcatraz managed to get all the way around as the walkers head focused on a group of Marines. Throwing his C4 at a large red glowing thing and waiting half a heartbeat, Alcatraz detonated the explosive. The walker simply slumped and fell over dead.

With the walker down, a group of humvees rolled up and the man in charge gave the Marines in the area fifteen minutes to sweep for survivors before they pulled back to Central Station.

As the marines pulled back, night began to fall. On the way to Central Station, Alcatraz and the marines he was with were going to be stopping by the public library by Bryant Park. As it always tends to occur in the movies, the Ceph began attacking in force while the marines and Alcatraz waited for the civilians to get through the library to the station. With only a couple squads plus Alcatraz, the dozen or so Ceph (which included a Devastator) put up one hell of a fight. Once that wave was down, a couple of gunships showed up and dropped off even more.

There were two anti-air batteries nearby that were currently offline for some unknown reason. Alcatraz was naturally ordered to flip them on while the rest of the marines held the line. As soon as the Ceph realized what Alcatraz was trying to do, they focused all of their fire power on him. It was through sheer luck that he got to the first AA battery, and it was going to take miracle to get to the second.

With help from his marine comrades, that miracle did happen only for it to come plummeting down as a Ceph artillery shell struck the library behind them. With the entire building seemingly aflame, Alcatraz did a sweep for survivors while the rest of the marines went around the building.

On the other side, there were Ceph waiting for Alcatraz who were naturally killed with extreme prejudice. The path to Central Station was also lined with more Ceph, but thanks to Alcatraz's hijacking of a mounted HMG, they posed no serious problem.

With Central Station in sight, and night fully upon them, the situation for the marines looked even bleaker than Alcatraz thought possible. The Ceph were shelling the station and were constantly sending in squads to try and over run the tired and beaten marines. The man in charge, Colonel Barclay, was doing the best he could despite the circumstances. The prime example of that was his decision to demolish a building in order to block the shelling.

Alcatraz was the one tasked to get it done. The charges were in place, but the fuses had drawn too much power and needed their breakers set, or something along those lines. So Alcatraz shoved against the Ceph that were pushing towards the defensive perimeter and reset the charges. Once clear of the blast, the marine who was in charge of the impromptu demo-job was ambushed by Ceph. Taking out the Ceph in response, Alcatraz grabbed the remote from the marines pocket and triggered the blast.

Finally, Alcatraz got a break from fighting as he was escorted through a decontamination tent. There he saw a couple CELL goons behind bars, one of which was complaining that they should give him a gun so he could help. Apparently the DoD finally got word of CELL's unorthodox procedures and pulled their contract out from underneath them.

With the decon procedures complete, Alcatraz was finally let through to see Barclay who was having a _discussion _Gould.

"I appreciate the help you've given us here, but this is a military operation, you are a civilian, and this city is under-"

"Marshal law," Gould finished, "I can see how well that's going for you." Chino was there was well and greeted his Force Recon teammate. Gould and Barclay finally noticed Alcatraz's entrance. "Alcatraz! You made it!"

"Good to have you aboard, Marine." Barclay greeted with a Brooklyn accent and a grin, "My men speak highly of you. Shit, most of 'em are downright scared of you."

"He's not some grunt you can just send to the front line. We need to-"

"He's under my command now." Barclay interrupted Gould, "We need all the manpower we can get to hold this place until the evacuation is complete." Barclay then walked to a hallway in the back of the room, and Gould followed him to try and continue arguing. In the hallway, Barclay pressed an elevator call button and stepped inside as soon as the door opened. "Dr. Gould, thank you for your time. Now I have you slated for evac on the trains along with the other civilians. That's the best I can do for you right now."

"Colonel, you're missing the point. Jack Hargreave has the answers to all of this. We need to mount an immediate raid on Roosevelt Island-"

"For all we know Hargreave's dead by now." Barclay butted in, "My priority is the evacuation." Chino made to grab Gould, only for the man to shrug it off. "I'm sorry Dr. Gould. We don't have time for this. Chino, get him to the trains." Gould finally relented and let Chino guide him to the trains. "Alcatraz you're with me."

As Alcatraz rode with Barclay, he was informed of how Gould supposedly escaped from Tara Strickland who Barclay revealed to have been a Navy SEAL before the news of her father's death at Ling Shan. When they reached their destination, Alcatraz could see the civilians being guided into waiting trains and all of them looked scared, confused, angry, you name it.

In the control room, one of the technical sergeants was complaining about how nothing worked while Barclay talked about how he was at Ling Shan and he saw Strickland die. Apparently when Tara heard she went off the edge; drink, drugs, dishonorable discharge. What he couldn't figure out was why she was working private-sector for Hargreave.

Just then, the entire room shook with the all too familiar rumble of explosions and artillery fire. The technical sergeant informed Barclay that the Ceph were breaching the main hall. Barclay ordered the trains to start going and sent Alcatraz up stairs to hold the Ceph back as long as possible. With the building shaking even more the stairs that Alcatraz climbed began to give way. A final jump got him to the top of the stairs where he ran out and found the main hall to be a huge battle ground. There was no defensive line, just small groups of marines fighting against various Ceph.

Using a Grendel rifle, Alcatraz brought the marines odds up considerably. Even when a Devastator showed up to play, an HMG that was behind a sandbag emplacement took care of it in short order. Then a shock-wave rang out, and was followed by another tripod walker (the marines were calling it a Pinger) bursting through the north wall of the hall. Being in an enclosed area, while it heightened its shock-wave/pulse effectiveness, eliminated its plasma chain guns effectiveness. The marines again found some rocket launchers and while Alcatraz kept its attention, unleashed them on the glaring weak spot on its backside.

With the Pinger down, Alcatraz could hear the sound of the artillery shells hitting the MetLife building that towered over them. Using the hole the Pinger provided, a trio of humvees careened into the hall to pick up the marines. As they loaded up, Alcatraz saw another barrage of shells hit the MetLife tower.

Those last few did the trick. It's upper most sections had lost structural support and were starting to tip towards Central Station. With debris falling all over the place, the humvees screamed out through a set of double doors that led to the street. Just outside, another couple of vehicles loaded with marines and civilians were making their way away from central station. Alcatraz's driver stopped at a civilian's request who had crawled up from a hole that was created in the stations substructure. He was trying to help his wife get out, but the MetLife building finally began its fall. The driver, seeing that the two civilian's weren't going to make it, punched the gas and got far enough away from the collapsing building for the humvee to make it out unscathed.

As they drove, Barclay came over the comms and directed all remaining civilians and marines to Times Square for the final evac. Heavy armored VTOL's were going to be flying the rest of the marine task force out of Manhattan and the last one was in fifteen minutes. Naturally when Alcatraz got there the Ceph were attacking the marine defense line which was set up on the south end of the square.

With the marines providing support, Alcatraz was free to use the Jackal (a fully automatic shotgun) to its full effect on the Ceph. He did have to duck behind cover once in a while to reload the shotgun, but quickly got back into the fray. Even a Devastator was nothing to him when he got up close and personal with the shotgun.

After what seemed like an eternity, the lights suddenly went out around the square. An odd roaring sound, that was way too familiar for Alcatraz's liking, followed soon after. With the lights out, and switching to a SCAR with a Gauss attachment, Alcatraz continued with eliminating the three Ceph that had just crawled over a barricade set up on the squares north end. As soon as they were gone, another Pinger made an appearance.

This time it was more interested in the marines and their HMG's they were using than to notice Alcatraz throwing C4 on its back from the Times Square police hut roof. A massive blast later, and Barclay gave the defense team the all clear to come on back and load up. As Alcatraz made his way to Barclay's position, several VTOL's began closing their rear hatches and taking off. Barclay just then began radioing in the last VTOL to land.

That's when the pavement began shaking and rumbling. As it broke open, a spire rose up and out of the ground. Barclay naturally wanted to know exactly what the hell it was, and if Alcatraz could have told him, he would have. Barclay, not waiting for an answer, began ordering the VTOL loaded so they could leave.

Hargreave had other things in mind though.

"_Colonel Barclay, I really must advise you against that."_

"Who the hell are you!" Barclay demanded

"_Jack Hargreave. Colonel, there really isn't-"_

"This is a military channel-"

"_-time for introductions. You're looking at an area denial bioweapon beyond your wildest dreams. You and all your men will be dead in the next minute and half unless Alcatraz follows my instructions to the letter."_

"Cyclops Four, hold off. Return to operational height." Barclay ordered, heeding Hargreave's warning.

"_Thank you Colonel. Now- Alcatraz. The spear is primed for spore dispersal, but the systems can be compromised. You'll need to climb it as you did the one in the hive."_

As if on cue, a section of the spear opened up revealing the swarming cloud of black that was the spore. Stepping inside the spear, Alcatraz didn't know what to expect this time. The spore attacked the suit again as he rose through the spears inside, and the HUD did its usual crazy thing. The DNA strand appeared again, the white sections becoming completely red and the hexagon pattern came together to form an even bigger hexagon. A loading bar of sorts popped up, but before it completed, Alcatraz was ejected out of the spear. Barclay's voice came over the radio ordered Cyclops Four to land and get the rest of the marines loaded while Alcatraz hit the ground.

Waking up from his fall, Alcatraz could see that there was still spore gunk on the suit which was slowly being absorbed into it. A few Ceph walked by, and then one stopped and picked Alcatraz up off the ground. The spear made a ringing sound and Hargreave came back over the radio.

"_The spear, Alcatraz... Watch the spear..."_

So Alcatraz did. What happened this time though was instead of a black cloud being shot out, a white one was. The Ceph that was holding him was disintegrated almost immediately, along with the other Ceph in the area including a Pinger which seemed to just shut down.

"_Excellent..."_

The suit then shocked Alcatraz's heart three times with its defibrillator to get its rhythm reestablished. When it did, the Pinger began moving again and making for Alcatraz, whose suit was still rebooting. What he wasn't expecting was for Barclay and Cyclops Four to come sweeping in and firing on the Pinger. The VTOL took a good chunk of fire itself as it swept in low for Alcatraz to jump into.

Gathering what strength he had, and what little the suit was providing, Alcatraz barely made it into the VTOL's passenger compartment. With some help from Barclay, Alcatraz stood back up and watched as the Pinger tried to attack once more with its shockwave but failed. Finally on board the VTOL proper, the rear hatch closed up and Alcatraz was able to relax for a moment.

Only for a moment as the clock pushed past midnight. A transmission from Gould saying that the Ceph derailed his train was keeping him from getting out of the city. Gould's pleading finally broke down Barclay enough to have Cyclops Four swing out to Roosevelt Island and drop off Alcatraz.

As they went by, Alcatraz was informed that he would have to be dropped from the air into the water on the south end of the island because of all the AA batteries CELL/Lockhart had set up and the damage done by the Pinger earlier. As they flew by the island, the pilot got as low as he could for the drop and Alcatraz jumped out.

The impact with the water was absorbed entirely by the suits armor function, but depleted its entire energy reserve. Swimming to the island, Alcatraz found out through the CELL radio traffic that an entire section of CELL troops were stationed and waiting for him to show up. Lockhart was adamant about killing 'the tin fuck'.

Too bad that his guys weren't more attentive as Alcatraz was able to cloak past every single patrol he came across. When Hargreave informed him of an EMP trap Lockhart had set up, he made a detour to the substation it was connected to and reset the breakers so when Lockhart tried to spring it, it wouldn't be enough to disable the suit.

Sure enough, Hargreave was true to his word about it not disabling the suit. It merely drained its energy reserves. Once Hargreave unlocked a maintenance door in the area where the EMP trap was set, Alcatraz made his way through some drainage pipes and instead of towards the river which was the obvious exit point, he went further inland to find an opening there. When the CELL troops opened their trap up, Lockhart was ready to go on the war path. While Hargreave sent him Lockhart's location, Lockhart was yelling at his men about how they were 'equipped and elite soldiers' .

Distracting the raving lunatic that was Lockhart further, Hargreave got into the radio traffic

"_I warned you, Lockhart. I told you, you were out of your depth. Your little power play is over."_

Alcatraz found the exit he was looking for, and just as he hoped, the CELL goons were combing the area by the river.

"You next old man! You next!" Lockhart shouted through the radio. "When I finish with this suited fuck, I'm coming in there for you. No more house arrest. I'm going to blow your senile brains out."

Alcatraz was by that time able to see Lockhart through his little command buildings nanoglass. A flight of stairs and a measly door was all that stood in his way.

"_Better men than you have tried, son." _Hargreave replied, _"Better men than you, and things so far beyond men you can't even begin to imagine them..._

_Alcatraz..._

_KILL HIM!"_

Rather than sneak in, Alcatraz chose to borrow one of the many HMG's CELL had set up in the area and used it to mow down the idiots that were standing in his way. That's when Lockhart fired through the nanoglass with a M2014 Gauss rifle and nearly ended his killing spree. Dropping the HMG he carried, Alcatraz made for the stairs to get out of Lockhart's line of sight. From there he finished off the rest of the CELL contingent who thought they could still take him down.

With no more threats highlighted by the suit other than Lockhart, Alcatraz made his way up the stairs. Once he got up there, he activated armor mode and power kicked the door open. Lockhart was waiting for him and fired a Gauss round at him, but with his energy still near full it didn't do jack shit.

Lockhart rush Alcatraz hoping to bash him in the head with the Gauss, but Alcatraz reacted faster and grabbed Lockhart by the throat. Not hard enough to kill him, but just enough to make Lockhart squeal in pain. Using the energy left in the suit, Alcatraz then threw Lockhart head first through the nanoglass to the ground twenty feet below. As Alcatraz looked down, he could see Lockhart crawling a bit. An empty clip from his SCAR later, and Lockhart was done for.

With almost all of the CELL contingent on the island dead or simply by passed, Alcatraz made his way into the Prism building to get answers to everything straight from the source. What he wasn't expecting were the two EMP emitters placed in the entry way he had to bust through.

_**/EMP assault... Systems impaired.../**_

The last words Alcatraz heard before he blacked out were from Hargreave._ "Alright, that's it. Perfect..._

_Thank you Ms. Strickland. Exemplary. Check his vitals then have him moved across to the skinning lab. We need to get him prepped as soon as possible, time is very much against us."_

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_**/Warning... EMP shutdown... All systems impaired.../**_

_**/Switching to core function mode.../**_

_**/Life support priority.../**_

_**/Warning... EMP shutdown... All systems impaired.../ **_

_**/Switching to core function mode.../**_

_**/Life support priority.../**_

_**/Warning... Deep layer protocols engaging.../**_

_**/Re-routing systems.../**_

_**/Wake up, marine! This is no time for dying! Get your ass back in the fight!/**_

* * *

**August 25****th****, 2023**

**CryNet Industries Prism HQ**

**Roosevelt Island, NY**

As Alcatraz woke up from being knocked out for the umpteenth time, he could have sworn the suit's computer system was actually yelling at him. That thought was brushed aside though as he felt himself being wheeled on a table of some sort through a utilitarian, off-white hallway with Hargreave's voice echoing off the tiled walls.

"_Just a grunt I'm afraid... Prophet could have told us more..."_

Alcatraz was now coherent enough to move his head around and watch as he was rolled into an operating theater of sorts. Hargreave's face being broadcasted through a display panel on the wall directly in front of him.

"_At least we have the nanogear intact, that's all that really matters... The rest I'll have to improvise once I'm in the suit. Ah... My young friend..." _Hargreave spoke, noticing Alcatraz's awareness of the situation. There was a lone techie in the room and two CELL troopers on either side of the table Alcatraz was strapped down to. _"I had hoped to spare you consciousness at this point, but the nanogear is not proving co-operative."_ The words may have been meant to be filled with sympathy, but it wasn't there. _"Let's get started..."_

The table Alcatraz was on, which had been at an angle, was angled backwards so he was parallel with the floor. Above him was some sort of six armed operating robot, which lowered down and showed numerous scalpels and tools Alcatraz didn't recognize.

Those tools purpose became apparent as one of them aimed at the center of Alcatraz's chest and fired a laser on his armor. The laser was more powerful than any normal surgical laser as Alcatraz was immediately hit with pain, either from the suits reaction to being cut off of his body or it reached into his body.

"_I am truly sorry for this betrayal, but I really have no choice."_

As Alcatraz thrashed about from the pain of the procedure, he experienced what could have only been flashes of Prophet's memories.

"_I need the suit – this particular suit, in fact – if I'm going to have any hope at all of stopping the Ceph._

The memories showed Prophet wearing the same suit as Alcatraz was now and walking into a huge office.

"_A simple soldier will not suffice here."_

The memory fully kicked in, showing Prophet yelling at Hargreave for not telling him about the true nature of the suits. Hargreave simply replied with the notion that the Ceph were more than humans could handle and the memory faded.

_**/Cellular force overload.../**_

_**/ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT, MARINE!/**_

"The suit's rejecting the rip!" The tech cried out. "It's overloading!" The equipment around Alcatraz was indeed frying, causing black smoke to fill the room.

"_Stop him! Kill him if you have to, but don't damage the nanogear!" _Hargreave ordered. _"Headshots only._"

The CELL goon to Alcatraz's left was only too happy to oblige as he aimed his Grendel rifle to Alcatraz's temple. "Nice try, tin man," he sneered. "Now say goodnigh-"

A pair of gunshots rang out from Alcatraz's right, and impacted the CELL trooper exactly in his armors weak points. Another shot hit him in the head confirming the kill. Turning to his right, Alcatraz saw who his savior was. Tara Strickland. She mercilessly killed the remaining CELL soldier with a quick unload of her pistols mag.

"_Tara, no!"_ Hargreave called out, as if begging for mercy. _"Tara, listen to me!"_

Instead she gave Hargreave's display a sneer, and turned to Alcatraz. "It's ok, you're safe – I'm C.I.A. Special Operations Group." She spoke as she rounded the table towards the tech who was still in the room. "Recruited out of the SEALs three years ago!" She grunted as she slammed the techs face into the laptop he was working at.

As she released Alcatraz, she explained that she was the one who ordered his squad in to get Prophet and Gould out. She also informed him that the Ceph were breaking into the building and they needed to get Hargreave out. Apparently the security was so heavy even she couldn't get in.

So Alcatraz went in with a vengeance hoping to get some final answers to everything that was going on by confronting the man who stole the Ceph's own tech over a hundred years ago. The same man who was behind the Ling Shan incident three years ago also apparently had some kind of plan to confront the invasion but never told anyone.

The great hall that led to Hagreave's office provided excellent cover for Alcatraz who simply bludgeoned his way through the CELL security forces any way he could. When he finally reached the double doors, he pushed them open like an ancient warrior who had just come home from a fight in a faraway land.

Hargreave's office was more like a library and a show room with floor to ceiling bookcases and several displays with various things pertaining to the Ceph. Even the Marine mass production model of the nanosuit was in a case.

"_So... Here you are. Theseus, at last. Welcome."_ Hargreave's image popped up on a large display that sat behind an equally large desk and above a giant world map. Strangely enough, Alcatraz recognized the room like he had been in it before. Shrugging the feeling off, he continued his march towards the desk. _"Scant reward for so much effort, eh... Crack the labyrinth and you would at least expect to see the Minotaur before it kills you."_ Hargreave actually sounded disappointed at the current situation. _"Ah well, it seems only fair. Come on then. Masks off... I am here..."_

Alcatraz just reached the desk when the world map behind it split in two and opened up. Behind it was a tube filled with some sort of glowing green liquid which surrounded a body. Numerous instrument panels were connected to the tube as well as liquid nitrogen tanks.

"_Shocked? I would be... I'd revel in it, if I were you; that sudden jump of the pulse, the cram of flight or fight chemicals into the belly, but it's been so very long since I felt any of it... A century or more since my pleasures were anything but cerebral... I took the path Karl Rasch refused, the cold road to immortality. I hoped to wear Prophet's suit myself... Take on the weapons he brought us, wear his armor, enter the labyrinth and confront the minotaur..._

_But now... You. You will have to finish what Prophet began."_

Gould interrupted Hargreave's speech, "Get out of there, Alcatraz!"

"_NO! Wait! There is a final piece of the puzzle you need."_ Hargreave urged. _"There on the desk. Take the syringe."_

A compartment opened up in the large desk, revealing an ornate box. Taking the box and opening it up revealed a hypodermic syringe from around the 1920's. Taking it in hand, he looked up to Hargreave's digital avatar, who simply nodded. The needle wasn't long enough to penetrate through the suit fully, but as soon as he finished injecting whatever was in it, the suit began to shut down as it displayed the DNA strand being integrated with a different white one and took him with it.

"_Yes... There... The Tunguska Iteration... The key to all gates..."_

While unconscious, the suit showed Alcatraz fragments of Prophet's battles with the Ceph. It showed a lot of a blue holographic globe with several spots outlined on it. The final one showed him coming up through some water into Central Park.

When Alcatraz came to, Gould's voice was in his ear again. "You mean they were here? All along?"

"_You think I based myself in this cesspit city because I __**like**__ it here?"_

"You were waiting for them?" Gould figured out, "Why didn't you warn someone?"

"_Warn whom? Humanity at large?"_

"Look what you've done old man. They're here, you -"

"_That's right Nathan! The owners are back! Waking the systems, firing up the boilers, back to spring clean the old family residence and not much liking what they've found festering behind the fridge. Can you blame them really?"_

The Ceph Tara was talking about earlier finally got smart and just sent a drop ship over Hargreave's office, whose ceiling was glass.

"_Ah- the angels of death at last; my escort back to human frailty! Well it took you long enough!"_

It fired down four pods, dropping off a pair of Commanders and a pair of grunts. The resulting impacts started a fire amongst the curtains which quickly caught on to everything else that was flammable. With the Ceph down and Hargreave cackling like a mad man, Alcatraz found an escape route through the upper part of the 'library'. As he made his way through the corridors, Hargreave's voice came over the building's PA system and informed any and all remaining CELL members that their commanding officers were dead and that they were to help 'Subject Prophet' in any means necessary. He also informed them that the island was set to self-detonate and for them to get off the island in a timely manner.

Once Alcatraz got outside, it was a pure massacre. Ceph were tearing through the CELL forces like butter, and didn't seem to care about the islands imminent destruction. Thankfully, Alcatraz found another M2014 Gauss rifle to replace the one he took from Lockhart and made swift work of all the Ceph he saw. With the only route of escape being the Queensboro bridge, Tara had tried to get a helicopter on the roof but that was a no go, Alcatraz made off the island like a bat out of hell.

While he ascended an elevator that connected the island to the bridge, Hargreave's voice came over the radio waves as an unsecured transmission. _"Will there be an afterlife, I wonder? Choirs of angels? Or a fiery pit? One unlearns these falsehoods over time, but the child who learnt to fear hell is never really gone. To tell the truth, I think I've had quite enough of afterlives as it is – this one has been pretty purgatorial. Almost fifty years floating in supercooled jelly like some medical specimen, thoughts creeping like rats through the cramped silicone corridors of machines trapped behind video screens and camera systems. Never sleeping, never resting, never ceasing to think about the world you no longer belong to. No, if this is a taste of the afterlife, I think simple oblivion will do nicely."_

Alcatraz by the time Hargreave's transmission had ended was already fighting his way over the bridge, throwing grenades to keep the Ceph behind cover while he simply sprinted past them. When he finally got far enough beyond them, he heard the explosion of the island and felt the bridge shake and crumble in response. Doubling his efforts, jumping over cars and barricades didn't help. The section of the bridge he was on simply fell away. Grabbing a piece of re-bar at the last second saved him from the nearly one hundred foot plunge to the water below. As he climbed back up the section of failed bridge, a taxi came flying from beyond and hit him head on.

The impact with the taxi was hard enough to force Alcatraz's grip loose and fall with the vehicle to the water below. In what was becoming routine, Alcatraz blacked out once again.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_**/Compatibility registration complete/**_

_**/Nanocatalyst viability assessment complete/**_

_**/100 percent/**_

_**/Tunguska Iteration installed/**_

_**/Total systems on-line... Ready to deploy/**_

_**/Alright! That's what I'm talking about! Now get your ass in gear, Marine. We're going for a walk in the park!/**_

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

When Alcatraz awoke he found himself floating near the shore of where the FDR met the Queensboro bridge. The suit was able to pick up some radio chatter from Strickland, Gould, and Chino who were all looking for him. Naturally as soon as Alcatraz picked himself up from the pool he was floating in, Gould spotted him first. Once Alcatraz joined the group, they all piled into some commandeered CELL ICV's and made their way to Central Park. Apparently Gould had figured that out from one of Prophet's imbedded memories. Along the way, Tara got in contact with Barclay who informed them of the Joint Chiefs decision to use a tactical nuclear war head to eliminate the Ceph threat.

Naturally the three vehicles put the pedal to the metal. Any Ceph that got in their way were quickly obliterated by Alcatraz's manning of the ICV's cannon and missiles (made significantly easier by not having to worry about driving), including a lone Pinger. What the ICV couldn't handle were the giant burrowing metal tentacles.

Alcatraz's ICV was hit by one of the tentacles, immediately disabling it, while Tara's and Gould's made a getaway. Once Alcatraz got out of the burning vehicle, Tara called in saying they were pinned by Ceph and needed him to get to higher ground to help clear them out. Grabbing a Grendel and shotgun, he fought his way through and up the closest standing skyscraper that the suit told him to. There were numerous Ceph Stalkers, all of which tried ganging up on Alcatraz, but his use of grenades and a K-VOLT he found lying around helped to keep them stunned.

Once he was on the towers highest available level, Alcatraz had a clear view of the street where Tara and Gould were pinned down. Barclay had managed to scramble some air support in, and the pilots only needed guidance which the suits binoculars could provide. With their targets marked, the pilots confirmed the attack run. In the distance, Alcatraz could see the glow of miniguns and rockets firing from two spots. The A-10's then flew at eye level right by Alcatraz, while the Ceph and their gunships were torn to shreds.

Proceeding onwards, Alcatraz did some roof hoping between sky scrapers while taking out some more Ceph who had decided to try and stop him. Unfortunately for them, CELL used the roof they were fighting on as an ammo dump site and Alcatraz found another M2014. Armed with his favorite squid killing weapon, Alcatraz efficiently cleared them out.

As he jumped over a couple more rooftops, a sudden pulse came from the center of Central Park. As the pulse spread, over a third of the park started rising up with Ceph architecture either pushing through it or supporting it as it rose. Tara, thinking on her feet, immediately got in touch with Barclay for airlift.

Alcatraz continued running over roof tops to meet whatever helicopter Barclay sent. Just as he got to the last roof he could jump to, the helo showed up. Even though it was a commandeered CELL helo, he jumped right in. As his chopper and whatever one that held Gould and Tara circled the 'litho-ship' as the suit called it, Barclay informed them that the nuclear strike was going to be launched in twenty minutes.

Not wasting time, Alcatraz was dropped off on the most stable part of the floating park alone. Under the clock, he sprinted his way to the central spore regulator spear. At first there were only a few Ceph which he took out before they could even call for help. The next section, which used to be the parks amphitheater, though was absolutely crawling with them. Unable to get tied up in a prolonged fire fight and a need to conserve ammo, Alcatraz cloaked past them.

Once past the outdoor theater, he was able to decloak and prep for what lay ahead. The suit had plotted out three spore regulators that he needed to sabotage before entering the main structure. Naturally there were even more Ceph in the areas around the three regulators than in the amphitheater. Using the most of his time, he studied their patrol patterns and managed to sneak in between them to destroy the regulators with a quick punch.

When all three were down, a huge section of a metal tentacle burst open, letting loose some of the spore as well as creating a passage to the central spear. Once through the tubing, Alcatraz was presented with an area that almost looked like an arena. Grabbing the M2014, he prepped himself for whatever was coming.

What he didn't expect was for four Ceph to decloak and bull rush him. A lucky shot with the Gauss took one down, but the one behind it rammed into him and sent him flying to his back. Quickly getting back up, Alcatraz used the thermal vision to see if he could spot them that way but was only provided with very small targets. Picking his shots required dodging gunfire and melee attacks from these elite Ceph, but eventually he got the remaining three down.

When he did, Tara came over the radio telling him that the nuclear strike was still incoming and would hit in two minutes. Going into over drive, Alcatraz found the spear entrance as marked by the suit. The entrance was guarded by Ceph, but Alcatraz didn't have time to fuck around. He engaged armor mode and sprinted like there was no tomorrow for that entrance.

He took several dozen rounds from the Ceph on his suicide run, but the suits energy reserves held until he made it inside the structure. This one was completely different from the other two. It was like the pits of hell inside, the spore swarm looking and acting like flames.

_**/Immune response commencing/**_

The suit looked like it was literally on fire as he made his way in further. Another difference was how he had to fight the spore swarm as it tried to push him back.

_**/Infestation terminal/**_

Naturally Gould piped in with the answer as to why, "Listen, Alcatraz, the spore's reactive. It's a protective system."

_**/Systems switching to core function mode/**_

"You need to look for cyborg cabling in the walls and use the suit to wrench some of it loose."

The further he got to what looked like a ledge, the harder it became to move. The suit began shutting down and forced him to his knees.

_**/Warning... Critical shutdown imminent/**_

Not giving up, Alcatraz crawled to the ledge. The spore swarm beyond it looking more and more like hellfire. As he finally made it to the ledge and looked down, it was like looking into hell itself.

_**/This is it Marine... Finish what I started.../**_

Seeing some of that cabling across the wide gap, Alcatraz leapt for it in a superman style punch. Whatever the hit broke through, he immediately grabbed a hold of it and used his weight to rip it open. Then either the suit partially shut down or Alcatraz let go as he fell down the spear.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

In the inner recesses of Alcatraz's mind, the image of Prophet in the suit without the helmet appeared.

"**Hey dead man. Some trip huh?"** Prophet shrugged. **"Thought I'd gone? Well... I thought so too... But the suit man... Hargreave was right. The suit changes all the rules. They got inside me. The Ceph, they got inside. I had to break the link to the suit, or lose control for good.**

**And you... You were there – in front of me – dying in front of me. Man I had to take the chance, give you the chance to finish what I started. It was our only hope."** Then a blue image of the earth came up around Prophet with several red hexagons all over the world. **"Look at that. Not just New York. Not just Ling Shan. See... The Ceph have been around forever man and they built everywhere.**

**Everywhere."**

_**/Assimilation Complete/**_

* * *

**August 27****th****, 2023**

**Ceph Lithoship remains**

**Central Park, NY**

"**We won here today, but this thing isn't even close to over. You and me marine, we don't get to die just yet. We gotta go back. Back where we're needed."**

As Alcatraz picked himself up from the rubble, he surveyed the area. The Ceph combat exoskeletons no longer housed the jelly components required for operation and there wasn't any sign of the nuke detonating. That's when a voice he hadn't heard before, with a heavy Germanic accent, came in over the radio.

"_Am I reaching the Force Recon marine just recovered at Central Park? The wearer of Jacob Hargreave's nanoshell?" _The suits HUD was still a little scrambled from whatever the hell happened inside the spear as the new guy talked. _"Wait... I'm adjusting the feed..."_ A moment later and it cleared up back to its normal display. _"Ah better... Allow me to introduce myself..._

_Karl-Ernst Rasch at your service... And you are?"_

For the first time in five days, Alcatraz felt the ability to talk but the voice didn't come from his vocal chords. Instead the suit processed his want and pushed it through its own synthesizer.

"They call me... Prophet" He replied using Prophet's voice.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Once Alcatraz, who now wanted to go by Prophet, was picked up by Tara, Gould, and Chino he was immediately sent to a nondescript building and put into an interrogation room. For the next several days, Prophet and anyone who had been involved in the Manhattan incident were debriefed by the CSIRA (Complex Systems Instability-Response Agency) Blackbody Council. They were a non-governmental agency that reviewed what the military did to provide a third party perspective of various situations.

One thing was evident once the interviews were completed sometime in early September was that it was currently impossible to know or understand the Ceph intentions, in New York or in the world. As such they released Prophet and the other 'survivors' back to their day to day lives while the evidence was sent to the 'proper authorities' to be disemeninated and discussed.

* * *

**A/N: Not much to say here other than the next chapter/section will be getting back to 2183 and all the fun that goes with it!**


	21. Deadman Walking, Part VII

**ME:TUH**

**Chapter 15.7**

**(Chapter 21 on FF)**

* * *

**A/N: Well now, if you skipped the Crysis 2 summary you may be expecting to get another chapter of backstory, detailing how the Ceph on Earth were beaten exactly, how Prophet/Alcatraz (from here on out, will be called Prophet) got to 2183, along with a host of other questions. Sadly that is not the case.**

**I could write an entire story based on what would happen between the end of Crysis 2 and the beginning of ME:TUH, and I didn't want write it half-assed in a 20 page summary chapter which wouldn't begin to do it justice. In the future I may write it out and post it as a separate story, along with Mitchell's full background, but that is WAY off into the future and would most likely be completely invalidated by Crysis 3. **

**For now, let's get back to 2183 and the coming rescue of Mitchell!**

* * *

**Terra Nova, Asgard System, Exodus Cluster**

**Abandoned Mine**

**July 30th, 2183 **

**00:35 Ship time**

Once again the screen faded to black, the images of a ravaged New York City, countless people killed, and the sheer potential of human arrogance burned into the Normandy crew's memories. Prophet, who slowly got up from the cradle, walked over to the group silently.

"Look," He began, "I know I just dumped a lot of information on you guys, but that was just the stuff you needed to know."

Ash spun to look at the nanosuit operative, her eyes filled with anger. "Needed to know? How in God's name was this all covered up? How could you simply take Mitchell, my ancestor, from his pregnant wife!" She demanded.

Prophet stood there for a moment before crossing his arms, "The cover up was actually pretty easy. The entire situation in Manhattan was covered by a media blackout, so hardly anyone but those in the city knew what was really going on. The Pentagon managed to blame it all on Hargreave & Rasch Biomedical, which was promptly shut down a few months later."

Shepard stepped in then, "What about the rest of the Ceph bases... Surely they were prepping for war..."

"Actually they weren't." Prophet corrected, "Using the modified spore, I managed to get to every subterranean base and neutralize them while the majority of them were still in cryo pods."

"What about the technology they held? Surely it could have advanced humanities technological prowess by centuries!" Tali exclaimed. "Instantaneous travel, even with time distortions, would be invaluable!"

Prophet shook his head. "Unfortunately, not even the brightest minds then could figure the tech out. What wasn't destroyed during my crusade, was studied at the Groom Lake facility until it was determined that the technology was beyond our current comprehension and put into deep storage. But enough about ancient history for now. I believe you guys owe me an explanation for why Mitchell isn't currently with you like he should be."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

As John gave Prophet a summary of events since the Normandy's launch, the rest of the team simply talked amongst themselves about the implications of the history they just learned. The general consensus was shock at how such events could be covered up, but there was also a fair amount of suspicion towards the relatively unknown operative.

"All I'm saying is that I get the feeling we don't know the whole story." Ash stated.

"Of course we don't," Garrus mumbled. "This Prophet reminds me of a deep cover detective I knew in C-Sec. He wouldn't tell anyone, not even Executor Pallin, the whole story if he thought it wasn't necessary."

"I'm more interested in the tech behind the suit... If the one Mitchell wears is the precursor to the one Prophet wears..." Tali's voice began to trail off as she thought about the numerous possibilities the nanosuits represented.

Roughly around that time, John finished his own history lecture, which Prophet took in stride like nothing was wrong.

"Yeah... Sounds like the plan we came up with..." Prophet commented once John finished. "Not the parts about Aldman and Cerberus though..."

"Wait... What do you mean by 'the plan we came up with'?" John asked, which drew the attention of the rest of the crew.

Prophet audibly sighed, "What I mean is that back when I finished off the Ceph, Gould and I met up with General Hawk at his request. Some of Hawk's techs had come up with some solid evidence pointing to the fact that based on the power fluctuations and the radiation emitted when Mitchell went through the Ceph portal aboard the Mothership inadvertently sent him into the future as well as spanning the distance to one of Jupiter's moons.

The real kicker was how far into the future was he sent. So we 'lost' a Ceph cryo-pod before it could be sent to deep storage, and came up with the plan for me to be put into cryogenic sleep for 10 years at a time. I would wake up for a month, gather Hawk and Gould, and go over whats been going on.

The real fun began when Hawk's and Gould's kids became involved. They were grandfathered into our little plan to make it work. You already know Hackett is Hawk's descendant, Shepard. Hackett is the one who woke me up a few months early to tell me about Mitchell's 'recovery' by your hands. Since I woke up a few days ago, I've been catching up on all that I've missed. Once we learned about the Citadel Council, it was Hackett's idea to get Mitchell into the Spectres as soon as we found him, using the Council's own classification systems to protect him. That part obviously didn't work out... You said you had some data recovered from one of their bases?"

John nodded, "Yes we do, although it's heavily encrypted and segmented. The operation we interrupted seemed like it wasn't prepping for work on nanotech, leading me to believe that they had no knowledge of anything beyond their own base."

"Commander..." Liara spoke up for the first time since leaving the Normandy. "Do we not have a prisoner aboard the Normandy for interrogation?"

John turned around to look at her, "That's right, Jackson managed to bag one of their researchers..."

"That settles it then... We have to go to Arcturus station so SECOND can harness its processing capabilities." Prophet declared and began heading to the weapons side of the room.

"Hold on... Who, or what, is SECOND?" John asked as Prophet grabbed a large assault rifle from the wall. It looked like a cross between one of the M60 machine guns on the wall and the Spectre class assault rifle John had on his back.

Prophet froze for just a moment before answering, "It stands for 'Semi-autonomous Enhanced Combat Ops: Neuro-integration Delivery'." He held the assault rifle in his arms in a casual carry, and turned around.

"Which means what to those of us who don't speak tech?" Ash questioned.

"It means," Tali snarled, "that his suit is being controlled by an AI!" She then brought up her shotgun and primed its Carnage shot.

"Haven't I gone over this already?" Prophet sighed, and shook his head.

With the rest of the Normandy crew looking on in shock (or in Wrex's case amusement), Tali's resolve was unwavering though, "I don't care how tough you are in that suit, you are being controlled by an AI! It's only a matter of time before it decides it doesn't need you or any other organic for that matter!"

Prophet chuckled to himself at first, then bent over in a fit of laughter. "No wonder the Quarians lost the war... They let their own fears of the worst possible outcome dictate their actions, rather than try to forge an understanding."

"NO!" Tali shouted, "You can't understand how a synthetic would think!"

"See... That's where you are wrong. Take a look at the galaxy! If it's impossible to understand a synthetic, then I would call anyone who claims to understand how a person thinks the universe's biggest hypocrite.

You also seem to have forgotten one simple fact here... This suit, while controlled by a _non-sentient_ AI, requires an _organic_ for it to operate. Take a look at these scans," Prophet gestured back towards the holo-panel, an omni-tool on his left arm lighting up. "Tell me what you see."

Tali didn't move an inch while the rest of the team looked behind themselves. The pictures showed in incredible detail the current state of Prophet's body. It was nearly impossible to tell where the machine ended and the human began. Much of the damage they saw occur to Alcatraz's body in New York was replaced by the suit itself having spread into them. Perhaps the most shocking thing was that the man's heart was _**not **_beating at all. Then there was how the spinal column was entirely covered in some kind of metallic sheathing.

Rather than wait for an answer, Prophet provided it. "SECOND is essentially a DNA based computer that utilizes the human brain for its primary storage, and while it regulates nearly all functions of the suit and my body, both it and myself would cease to function without each other at this point. I am literally trapped inside this suit. A dead man walking."

Tali finally lowered her shotgun, the bit about being trapped inside a suit striking home. "But what about how-"

"As far as the original Prophet is concerned," Prophet interrupted, "SECOND is a learning computer and picked up enough of his memories to supplant them into my own. Think of it as like having two personalities in one body."

Kaiden shook his head, "You're not helping yourself out here."

Prophet shrugged, "The way I see it, Mitchell needs our help. I'm willing to help you in that respect, but understand that I simply can't tell you the whole story. Not yet anyway."

John sighed, "Fine... We need to get Admiral Kahoku back to Arcturus anyway... Lets get out of here."

* * *

**Hidden Base**

**Nepheron, Voyager Cluster, Columbia System**

After the rather brief introduction to Hargreave Jr. and some other big wig, a number of men in lab gear approached me with a bunch of surgical tools. Being strapped down to a table and watching them attempt to cut their way through the suit proved to be rather entertaining. The suit was still in some kind of lock down mode, which in turn simply destroyed whatever tool they used to try and cut through the suits outer layer in an effort to get it off of me. Unfortunately, the entire time this was going on, I could barely move myself.

_**/User safety protocols engaged... Primary, secondary, tertiary systems offline/**_

_**/Deep layer protocols engaged... Lock down initiated/**_

Those two messages constantly flashed across my visor as I tried to free myself from the restraints. Apparently the suit had a mind of its own at this point, and I took the opportunity to look around the room. There were numerous pieces of some kind of monitoring all around the room, and a separate gurney full of surgical equipment (most now broken).

That was when things began to get interesting as a new guy in full operating robes walked in with several carts of tools, fluids, and what looked like a six armed surgical robot. The robot positioned itself behind me and extended its arms above me. Three of the arms had some kind of barrel on the ends while the other three had scalpels.

"All right gentlemen," The new guy started, with an odd accent in his voice. "I am Dr. Issacs. The Illusive Man has brought me in on Project REBIRTH to ensure we utilize every technique available." _Doesn't seem like your typical doctor,_ I thought to myself as he went over to the new pieces of equipment he brought in with him. "The subject before us needs to be examined in every possible way imaginable. However, since the suit's non-sentient artificial intelligence is blocking our attempts to separate the suit from the wearer, we are going to have to resort to more practical methods of data collection."

With that he turned on one of the devices he brought in, and it hummed with power. I mentally prepared myself for whatever pain was to come. Issacs activated his omnitool, and as a scanner that was connected to the bed began its scanning routine, he disconnected two wires from the device he turned on and held them over me. One of the wires he held near the center of my chest, the other by near my pelvis. A closer look at the wire showed that the ends of it were not too dissimilar to the claws used on jumper cables.

"Administering electrical stimulus to subject in three... Two... One..."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

A few hours later, and Issacs was having a fit. He was sitting in the 'surgery theater's' observation room that had been turned into their main work area and was going over the data they collected. He used nearly every possible method to break the connection between the suit and the wearer; escalating electrical stimulus, the most potent acid and base compounds known, brute force hacking, directed EMP's, even alpha, beta, and gamma radiation exposure. The suits nanoweave, as he was informed it was called, was resistant to everything he threw at it while the AI, rather than fight any hacking, simply shut down any possible wireless access.

On the other hand, the electrical shocks did affect the wearer inside it on a consistent basis according to the scans that were taken. The scans also revealed that even though the AI had essentially shut itself down, the synthetic cells that were ever present in the subjects body still worked to repair any damage done to him. That bit of information intrigued Issacs.

"Dr. Issac's?" An unimportant tech called out from his work area.

"Yes?" Issac's grumbled, unhappy at his train of thought being interrupted, "What is it?"

The tech was visibly startled by the tone Issac's used, and recollected himself before answering. "Mr. Grabovich is in the theater and h-"

Not waiting for further details, Issac's leapt up from his chair and made for the operating theater.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_Not gonna lie... When I get off this table... Heads are going to be rolling and asses are going to be kicked,_ I though to myself. After what felt like an eternity of torture, the Cerberus doctor finally gave up on trying to break through the suits armor. Naturally they used everything they could think of, so I wasn't exactly thrilled when they started off with electricity.

The first 'test' wasn't too bad, as the suit simply absorbed the charge. When they amped up the voltage (but kept the amperage down), that's when things got interesting. The more they cranked the charge, the more I felt through the suit. I did my best not to cry out in pain, to not show the sick bastards a sign of weakness, but when it felt like my internal organs were being fried I let loose a yell that scarred everyone but the guy administering the charge.

The supposed doctor, Issacs I think his name was, clearly didn't take the Hippocratic oath when he graduated from med school. After the electrical torture ended they moved on to some more creative methods. They dropped some acidic and basic formulas on both the nanoweave and the skeletal frame work, I guess in hope to crack me open. Surprisingly, the suit held up for the most part. Then they brought in a vial of concentrated Thresher Maw acid.

I had no clue how they could have concentrated the stuff, let alone obtained it. After seeing what Thresher acid could do to an armored vehicle, I wasn't to thrilled to see what it might do to the suit. One drop is all they put on my arm, and one drop is all it took. I don't know if the suit simply let it bypass the outer layers, but it went straight into my arm and I swear if I could have I would've torn my arm off than deal with the pain from the acid eating through my skin, muscle and bones. Again, I was in enough pain to just let loose. I was spouting off curses that would have made a Vietnam War veteran blush, and they were all directed at Issacs and his assistants.

Thankfully, even though the suit was in lock down, the nanocells in my system got to work in short order to repair the damage. When the pain finally subsided, they brought in what was essentially a box with a barrel sticking out of it. They then shutdown all of their equipment and stepped out of the room. A brief five second countdown later, and nothing had changed beyond the visor's HUD flickering.

I figured it was some sort of directed EMP, because as soon as they came back in Issac's ordered one his assistants to try hacking into the suit. When the tech activated his omnitool and waved it over my body, he began typing like a mad man. After few minutes of work, he shutdown his omnitool and informed Issacs that the suits AI had shut down all wireless access and the only way to access it would be for a hardline connection.

That got my attention. It would make sense for a suit as advanced as the nanosuit to be partially controlled by an AI, but to what extent? Issac's and his team finally left the room at that point, while the HUD began displaying a different message beyond the constant lock down warnings.

_**/Nanosuit AI designation... Fiber Integrated Reactive Synaptic Transceiver/**_

_**/FIRST's capabilities... Regulation of nanocell programming.../**_

_**/Neural interface with Nanosuit occupant for regulation of biological processes/**_

_**/Advanced computational capabilities for tactical solutions/**_

_**/Direct data transfer to neural network/**_

_**/Occupant memory storage/**_

_**/Analyzation of foreign biological samples for reintegration, specialization, and application/**_

_**/Wireless signal processing and access, amplified by omni-tool/**_

_Huh... So... I guess that means you are able to read my thoughts?_ I thought to myself, not sure I wanted an answer.

_**/...Neural pattern recognition required for hard coding of occupant memory.../**_

_So why are you keeping the suit in lock down when we could have busted out of here?_

_**/Tactical options limited... Intelligence on Cerberus and connection to Hargreave required.../**_

_Perfect... I'm arguing with a suit of armor..._ _Damn thing has a point though... That guy earlier looked a lot like Hargreave, maybe he's the originals descendant..._

At that moment, the door to the lab opened up, and the man himself walked right in.

"I suppose you would like to know how I know almost everything about you Captain Mitchell..." He started off, coolly. Since I was tied down and my suit still intact, I decided to just sit there, look pretty, and not give the man anything. He walked over next to the table/me and surveyed the suit.

"I am impressed... A normal man would have succumbed to the treatments my... _partner's_... specialist applied to you, yet you remain defiant. An admirably trait... One that deserves the answers you are undoubtedly asking yourself..." Hargreave walked over to one of the pieces of equipment that was recording something from the suit, and pressed a few buttons. The table scanner then shutoff, its light dimming. He then pulled up his own omnitool and pressed a few buttons.

"All I will tell you is that it is no thanks to you and the other nanosuit operator known as Prophet that my family name has been stricken from history." He pressed a few more buttons and the six armed robot that was still hanging over my head began moving, it's arms positioning themselves at several locations above my body. One of the barrel ended arms pointed at the center of my chest, two of the scalpels near by shoulders, and the rest I lost track of.

"However, the technology behind your nanosuit is far more than what you realize... And it is for that I need to do this." He pressed another button on his omnitool, and the arms began their dance. The barrels, as I found out the hard way, were the end points of highly focused lasers which were cutting into the suit. While not as painful as the Thresher acid or the end of the electrical shocks, it still hurt enough to cause me to grunt and growl through the pain.

_**/Warning... Suit Rip in process... Diverting energy reserves... Cellular Overload in progress/**_

As I writhed in pain from the cutting lasers, I could barely make out Hargreave Junior yelling about something being impossible before the cutting lasers stopped. The pain subsiding, I focused my efforts on trying to get off the table once more. With my efforts, I witnessed Hargreave being _escorted_ out of the room by some Cerberus lackeys while Issacs walked in.

"Well now... It seems that Mr. Grabovich knows something we don't..." He smiled as he walked up to me and examined the spot on the suit where the laser had been focused. "Daniels... Get me the sonic sryinge." A tech in a surgical gown and mask walked over to a table that had several tools on it yet, grabbing a very large bore syringe, he handed it to Issacs. "Thank you... Now..." Issacs activated something on the syringe and a light buzzing noise could be heard. "Let's see what make you tick..."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

As Issacs used the sonic syringe, which was developed to penetrate through even tough Krogan armor, their hide, then cauterize the wound as it exited, Mitchell struggled against the pain of having the large bore needle shoved into his chest cavity. The suit skinner, which had been overloaded by some unknown means, had managed to cut partially through a section of the Coltan-Titanium frame and hit the (relatively) soft nanoweave underneath.

While it wasn't the easiest thing to do (Mitchell's thrashing not taken into account) and required a bit of elbow grease, the specialized syringe did the trick. Issacs had some how managed to maneuver past the rib cage and hit one of the minor pulmonary veins. With the syringe in place, Issacs then withdrew a full liter of blood before activating the syringes cauterizer and pulling it back out.

As soon as it exited Mitchell's body, he visibly slumped while his EKG showed minimal activity. With the blood sample in hand, Issacs beckoned his assistants back out of the surgery theater to their lab.

"Come, there is a lot of work to be done. I want the blood tested for anything and everything you can think of..." Issacs voice trailed off as he left the room for the lab and the door shut behind him leaving Mitchell unconscious on the table with a cauterized hole in his chest.

A few minutes later, and the door opened back up. One of the many Cerberus security personnel walked in and after waving his omnitool in an arc across his body, checking its reading, and shutting back down, made a beeline for the table. He then pulled out a small cutting tool and began making barely noticeable cuts into the bindings that held Mitchell down. Once all of them were weakened, he brought up his omnitool again.

"Yeah, Boss... Job's done... Tell the Illusive Man the first phase is complete... Moving on to the second phase..." As quickly as he showed up, the Cerberus grunt left, and made a bee line for the far side of the base.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_**/Warning... User vitals falling... Engaging secondary deep layer protocols.../**_

_**/Protocols initiated... Emergency nanocell supply unavailable.../**_

_**/Diverting tertiary and secondary nanocells... Diversions complete.../**_

_**/User vitals stabilizing.../**_

_**/Warning... Gold-Cobalt Oxide Lattice fuel cell nearing depletion... Manual recharge necessary.../**_

I woke back up to FIRST's constant warnings about my stab wound and the low energy readings. I didn't know how long I was out for, the pain of having that damn needle shoved into me, past my ribcage and into what felt like a major blood vessel took a lot out of me. Then add in the insane amount of blood they took and the cauterization they did, I wasn't feeling the greatest.

Then my favorite person came back in. Issacs. If I had the energy I would have said something witty, defiant, smartass, take your pick, but I needed to rest. _John wouldn't leave me to these guys... As a marine, they don't leave people behind... And I hope as a friend..._

_**/Tactical options available/**_

_Oh really now? What's changed since they broke through the armor and grabbed an eighth of my blood?_

_**/Bindings showing man made fractures... Escape from lab possible/**_

_Now that doesn't make sense... But I'm not going to waste an opportunity here, but what about the low energy warning you were giving me?_

_**/GCOL cell status: 10% energy reserves... Recharge required for continued operation and occupant safety/**_

_I probably don't want to know this..._ I grumbled to myself. Issacs and his techs were still working on gathering whatever data they could about the suit and me. I was just glad they weren't attempting to crack me back open yet. _What happens when the energy reserves become completely depleted? And why isn't it recharging?_

_**/Energy reserves used in Cellular Overload... Insufficient energy sources available for passive recharge... Upon maximum energy expenditure, nanosuit automatically disengages all protocols and releases occupant.../**_

_So its do or die time..._ I thought with a sigh. _Alright let's see what our options are..._ With that FIRST released the lock down protocols and allowed me to activate the thermal vision. With that I could see that there wasn't any one observing from above through the theaters window and that there were two barely distinguishable heat sources outside the door. _No doubt as soon as I start breaking these bindings, those guys will come in guns blazing... How much energy do I have available for combat?_

_**/Current energy available for combat purposes... 6%/**_

_**/Remainder of energy allocated for suit operations/**_

_Is the suits 'normal' strength enhancement enough to break the bindings without using additional energy?_

_**/Analysis underway.../**_

_**/Analysis complete... Energy consumption to break bindings negligible to normal suit operation.../**_

_Then let's get going..._

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

As Issac's came back down to see if the equipment had gotten anything useful from the mess that Grabovich started, he ignored the EKG display showing that the subject Mitchell was awake. _He's been __awake before and beyond trying to break the restraints and reacting to the testing, he's done nothing..._ Issacs thought and turned to look at a holopanel that showed all of the data being recorded simutaneoulsy. He backed up the feed to the point of the 'suit skinner', as he learned the device's name, had fried. All of the equipment had no data of the event, as if a self contained, low powered EM pulse was set off. As he ran through the possibilities he heard something he never expected to hear.

Titanium-alloy restraints being snapped like toothpicks.

Shock and disbelief stunned Issacs where he stood. Mitchell's right hand had somehow broken through the metal restraining ring, and moved up to pull at the ring that held him down by the neck. While Issacs watched in fascination, his assistant screamed like a little girl, and fled the room. The assistants rather embarassing screaming got the attention of the guards that stood outside the surgery theaters doors.

The guards were armed with the Gorgon Mk. III assault rifle. The rifle was produced exclusively by one of Cerberus' military cells and packed more punch than the Hahne-Kedar Lancer Mk. III. Their actions to move in and reacquire Mitchell though didn't go as planned. Two assault rifles in an enclosed space against an all encompassing 'super-suit' did not bode well for them.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

As I broke through the restraints, I quickly came up with a plan to deal with the two goons that stormed in as the pansy of an assistant ran out. Their rifles looked similar to the standard issue rifles I saw on the Normandy, but their impacts against the suit told me otherwise. I couldn't afford to waste the precious energy I had on armor mode, so I pushed through the pain of the bullets hitting me. Each impact felt like a golf ball hitting me as soon as it left its tee, but that was minor compared to what I was recently subjected to.

Luckily the door out was only about ten feet away from the table, so the guards didn't have much time to try and breakthrough the nanosuits natural armor. As I got closer the two of them, even though they were helmeted, were clearly panicking. When I got to about four feet in front of them, the guy furthest from me rushed past his friend and raised his rifle to do the typical rifle butt melee.

I caught his downward smash with a raised left arm, grabbed him by the separation in his stomachs armor plating, and shoved him towards the closest guy. Under normal circumstances in the suit, I probably could have lifted the guy clear above my head and thrown him like a rag doll, but I had to minimize my movements.

_**/Suit energy capacity reaching critical levels... 5% remaining for combat/**_

With the two idiots falling back and on to the floor, I took the advantage and slammed their heads together hard enough to ensure they would be knocked out for a while. I then grabbed one of their omnitools and snapped the watch like device around my right wrist.

_**/Analyzing device... Searching for viable recharge locations.../**_

As I waited for FIRST to do its thing, I grabbed one of the rifles that was now with out a caring owner and peeked outside the hall. Either the base was severely undermanned, or they were setting up choke points for me as it was completely deserted.

_**/Analysis complete... Cloning secondary device to primary.../**_

_Nice..._ I thought to myself as I listened for any sign of footsteps coming from the halls. Right outside the surgery room the hall went left and right, with further branches beyond that I couldn't see. _If I would have simply taken his omnitool, they would have noticed and taken measures to counter that..._

_**/Cloning complete... Mapping route... Follow the way points.../**_

With that update, FIRST provided a breif glimpse of the base and it was massive compared to the one on Binthu. Spanning at least ten levels, all of which I assumed to be underground, it was set up in an inverted cone. The tip of the cone was the furthest down while what I could only guess to be their hangar to be the top level. The good news was that there were several elevators and emergency escape routes.

The bad news was that FIRST had hacked into their comm system using the encryption protocols, which let me hear their plan.

"_Teams 1 through 4 head to sublevel 4 immediately and do a full sweep! Teams 5 & 6 secure level 10 and 1 each! Under no circumstances are you to engage, just force him to move towards the target area!"_

I had to give their leader credit, according to the layout FIRST obtained, Level 4 was their bio-research level, while 1 was their geothermal power plant and 10 was the hanger bay. He knew enough to cut off access to the surface and the power supply which if cut would cause enough confusion for me to escape and by ordering them not to engage, likely wanted to use them later to overwhelm me when they got me pinned down.

After putting the knocked out goons omnitool back on his wrist, I set out to follow FIRST's waypoints. Through sheer luck, I managed to avoid running into the teams sweeping the level. When I reached the final way point, I found myself in front of a door that had 'Power Regulation' written on it. Just as I went to open the door, I heard the distinct sound of armored feet hitting the metal floors.

Not wasting time, I opened one of the few manual doors I had seen since waking up here in 2183, stepped inside, and closed the door as quickly and as quietly as I could. I waited right next to the door, ready to take the patrol down if they decided to open the door.

"What's the big deal about this guy anyway?"

"Who knows... That Issacs guy is a certified nut job though."

Judging from the number of footsteps, there were only the two of them walking down the hall, and they were getting closer to my position.

"You got that right..." Goon A muttered.

"Gotta say though, from what I've heard from Halsy, that guy and his suit of his are as tough if not tougher than a Krogan." Goon B commented. Remaining as still as I could, the sound of their voices bouncing around told me that they were just passing by the door.

"Yeah right... Halsy thinks that Asari are better looking than a _real_ woman." A scoffed, the sound of his voice and footsteps slowly moving away.

"Whatever man. All I know is that I don't want to know what that guy is truly capable of..." B's voice trailed off, along with the echo of his footsteps signaling they had gone down another hall. Letting go of the breath I didn't know I was holding, I took the opportunity to look around the room. There wasn't much to it. A lot of power cables and junctions all connected to a singular workstation.

_**/Access power grid to replenish GCOL fuel cell.../**_

"Whatever you say buddy..." I mumbled as I accessed the workstation. Through it I was able to open up one of the junctions and expose the live wire.

_**/Direct energy transfer protocols initiated... Connect with power supply.../**_

As FIRST spoke, I felt the right hand of the nanosuit shift around to reveal what I could only assume to be some of its own power conduits.

"Here goes nothing..."

When my hand touched the live wires, there was no describing the feeling as it surged through the suit, giving it new life so to speak. I was caught up in the moment until I heard the radio come to life.

"_Damnit! He's found the power room! Teams 3 & 4 get there now!"_

Without thinking, I let go of the wiring and dashed out the door holding the assault rifle in my right hand purely by its pistol grip by the trigger. FIRST updated me with some way points, and dutifully let me know that the suit had only reached 67% of it's maximum charge. It wasn't ideal for combat, but I wasn't looking at taking on an entire base by myself at this point.

I rounded two corners, and ended up bowling over two members who were rushing to the power room. The increased mass due to the nanosuit and my sheer stubbornness kept me upright as the other two crumpled underneath me. As I regained my footing, FIRST must have took some control of the suit and used it to fire a few rounds into guys on the ground. Their kinetic barriers stopped the shots, but it was enough to keep them on their toes as I continued on my way. The route FIRST plotted for me went all around the level I was currently on, as if it was trying to throw off any attempts of the Cerberus troops creating a bottleneck.

That also meant I had to literally shove my way through another six of the two man patrols. As soon as they saw me turn a corner, they would radio the next group to try and head me off. After we followed this pattern for a few times, I decided a change up was in order.

Instead of immediately turning when I saw a patrol, I ran right into them firing the assault rifle to keep them down and in cover. As soon as I got close enough to them, I threw them into each other and knocked them out like I did the guys in the surgery theater. FIRST then replotted its course, and it must have been my lucky day as I had ended up right by one of the emergency ladder shafts that led directly to the hangar bay.

I quickly checked the surrounding halls to be sure none of the other squads would see where I was going, although that wouldn't matter if they had monitoring systems in the emergency shafts. Pushing that thought aside, I climbed up the six levels worth of ladder rungs as quickly as I could. The shaft was lit only by emergency lights every fifteen feet or so and if there were any monitoring devices, I couldn't see them. I honestly didn't care at this point, my only concern was getting the fuck out of this base.

When I finally reached the top, I was greeted by a simple access hatch above the ladder. Opening it and climbing out brought me to the hangar which was extensive. There were areas for cargo crates to be offloaded, ground vehicles to be repaired and serviced, along with a open sub-hangar to park various vehicles. In that sub hangar were a number of Makos and one shuttle.

The shuttle had an odd design to say the least. It had four thrusters mounted on four of its corners and had no aerodynamic profile what so ever. Seeing as it was the only option I had for getting off the rock permanently, I quickly scanned the entire area. The access hatch brought me up close to one of two visible elevators to the hangar, and FIRST hadn't picked up any more of their radio chatter. Either they had switched frequencies or they just weren't talking and I highly doubted it was the latter.

I walked over to the shuttle, keeping an eye on the elevators I could see to be sure no one surprised me. When I got in range of the shuttle, FIRST used my omnitool to access its controls and began to open its huge gull wing door. I walked backwards to the shuttle, checking everything. _It's been too easy... Surely they would have had more security... _ I turned back to enter the shuttle and I was greeted the sight of two small bots with what appeared to be focusing dishes and a whine of something charging up.

_**/EMP charging.../**_

"Fucking knew it." I muttered as the bots released the pulse.

_**/EMP shutdown... Systems impaired... Engaging user safety protocols/**_

_**/EMP shutdown... Initiating reboot/**_

Without FIRST to regulate the suits systems and keep the power flowing, I felt the full weight of the suit hit me. Even though the suit was able of performing superhuman feats, the artificial muscle used in its construction was extremely heavy when not powered. Add in the trauma I endured earlier, and I was in no shape to try and move the disabled suit beyond dropping to the floor to avoid further trauma. I don't know how long I was lying there, but the same cocky bastard that had been there for my original capture walked into view, an assault rifle in his hands.

"Not so tough now... Are you tin man?" He said smugly.

I was torn... To piss him off or not? Before I could come up with a smart-ass comment, he reared back with his assault rifle and the last thing I saw was his downward swing with its butt end coming right at my face.

* * *

**Cerberus Outpost**

**Deneurca, Amazon System, Voyager Cluster**

**July 30th, 2183**

**0300 ship time**

Two Cerberus troopers dragged a young human male between the two of them. The facility they were stationed at wasn't the biggest outposts Cerberus maintained, but it was one of the lucky ones with plenty of funding in several areas. Unfortunately though, their cell leader was called away by the Illusive Man to head up another project. As such the techs at the Deneurca facilities were given base instructions to follow.

One of those was to continue testing and interrogating three prisoners they held in their prisoner wing. The young man between the two goons had several fresh bruises forming on his face, not counting the ones covered by his clothes, along with some burn and needle marks.

When the two guards reached the appropriate cell, one of them waved their omnitool for the holding cell to open. The cell itself was mainly a steel cube, no furnishings of any kind, but it did have impact proof glass windows part way up, allowing the occupant to see their neighbors as well as out the front of the cell. The guards uncermonisously dropped the young man in the center of the cell, and walked back out with the cell door closing behind them.

"Jesus Christ, John... What the hell did they do to you?" In the cell next to him, a slightly taller young man of Asian descent called out to him. John's form remained unmoving though. "John? JOHN!"

John suddenly shot up, "Huh? NO!" He looked around for any sign of danger, then relaxed when he saw his friends face in the window to his right. "Finally... They... Hooked me up to... Some sort of machine... Injected me with stuff... Tortured me... Wanted to know... Where Sean and the others were." He slumped back down, grateful to have a moments rest.

"Did you tell them?" A feminine voice came from John's left.

John laughed slightly, the groaned from the pain. "Of course not Sydney... There's nothing to tell. They could be anywhere by now."

"You going to be alright?" Sydney asked, eying up the damage done to John's body with a pained expression on her face.

"Yeah... I just need some rest... Which Weigman over there interrupted." John replied, rolling over to his back, taking off his shirt to use as a pillow.

"Just making sure you're alive there buddy." Weigman joked.

Sydney's face then disappeared from view of the two men as she sat down on the floor and curled her knees up to her chest and held them in tight. "They'll never be able to find us here." She wimpered loudly enough for her friends to hear. "We're gonners."

"I do admit... The chances of the others finding us out here in the Traverse are slim..." Weigman said, "We've been in tough spots before though... Remember those Batarian slavers?"

"Don't even bring that up." Sydney shot back, venom dripping in her voice as she stood back up and fixed Weigman with a death glare through the glass that seperated them. "I NEVER want to go through that ever again."

"Suit yourself..." Weigman replied with a weak smile. "I can't help things to talk about around here are running dry."

"Just be quiet," she shot back before turning around and lying down to rest.

With Sydney now out of view and John resting from his ordeal, Weigman stared at the ceiling of his own cell. _Sean, Thomas, Allen... I hope you guys are planning on finding us... _Weigman then followed his friends examples and laid down on the cold steel of his cell to try and rest, hoping rescue would be coming soon.

* * *

**A/N: Yes I know you guys don't like cliff hangers, but everything you have read (chapters 15 - 21) have taken me most of the past 5 months to write. The ending of this 'arc' will continue once I beat Mass Effect 3 at least once. **

**Then after that I'm going to be taking a hiatus to recollect myself and go back and rewrite the beginning dozen or so chapters. You may find this hard to believe, but up until chapter 13, I was completely winging my writing. No basic outline/time line, no notes, nothing. Prepping for the current arc made me realize how stupid that was of me, and as such I will be going back and making significant changes.**

**That leads me to my next point. If you want to keep up to date on my updating of previous chapters, I have created a Twitter account for that. I go by 'Ryan Mitchell' or search for 'Mitchell_DN7'.**

**Finally, ME3 release is less than 23 hours away... HAPPY REAPER HUNTING!  
**

**DN7 **


	22. Deadman Walking, Part VIII

**ME:TUH**

**Deadman Walking, part VIII**

* * *

**A/N:**

**Well... I must say that I am of the mind that all the fan fiction dedicated to 'bettering' the end of ME3 needs its own category. I am one of the few out there that overall thinks that the ending doesn't need to be redone, merely tweaked. More information on the state of the galaxy, why Joker ran, and perhaps more cut scenes showing the orbital battle, but other wise leave it as is.**

**That's all I'm saying since every one is entitled to their own opinion and I'm not going to make a huge deal about it on here. Needless to say, given how much I've already messed around with canon, the ending for ME:TUH 3 will not be what you think.**

**Please read the ending A/N in detail because I have a bunch of info for you guys!**

**Now... Onto what you all have been waiting for!**

**Disclaimer: The OC's being used (Sean, Thomas, Allen, John, Weigman, and Sydney) are property of GIRLIKESTACOS from his story The Odd Ones Out and are being used with his permission!**

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Docking With Arcturus Station**

**03:00 Ship Time**

The ride from Terra Nova to Arcturus station was an awkward and quiet one for all involved. With Prophet's revelation of Mitchell's past (most of which Mitchell had yet to recover himself), the origin of the nanosuit, and how the designer of them held no qualms of sacrificing human lives to further his own goals, naturally everyone on the ship had questions. Prophet however locked himself in the comm room to 'go over the data they had on Cerberus and on Atlas' suit to determine his condition'.

Perhaps the ones taking Prophet's seclusion hardest were Ashley and Liara. Ashley wanted to know more about her family's origins, having only been told stories about how her great-great-great-grandfather mysteriously disappeared. Liara also wanted more details on Mitchell's past, especially concerning his fiance. Being denied that information for the time being, they both went back to their usual tasks.

In the meantime, Shepard, Kahoku, Garrus, and Wrex spent some quality time with their Cerberus prisoner. After checking for any possible 'kill-on-capture' devices on her person or physiology, they began preliminary questioning to which she was mildly resistant and gave only her name. Once Garrus offered a few helpful 'suggestions' they got beyond her name and to what her field of expertise was. Unfortunately that was as far as Kahoku would go without bringing in an Alliance Intel officer from the Systems Alliance Intelligence Bureau (SAIB).

Once the Normandy got to Arcturus station, they received specialized docking clearance from Admiral Hackett to use a docking cradle normally used for the reception of very important dignitaries and politicians that wasn't listed on any available blue print of the station. Upon docking, Shepard, the ground crew, Kahoku, Prophet, and their Cerberus prisoner were all greeted by a squad in nondescript Onyx X armor. Shepard was the only one to recognize a raised texture on the armor that denoted that the squad was an N squad. It wasn't common knowledge, but the only the N7 insignia was allowed to be displayed on an operatives armor or person. The N1's through N6's had to make due with a simple, and unnoticeable to the untrained eye, raised pattern on their armor where the N7 would go. Being an N7 himself he instantly knew that Hackett was taking this situation with Cerberus very seriously.

Hackett was there as well to supervise the transfer of the prisoner from Shepard's custody to the N squad. "Well Commander... I hear we have a hell of a debrief coming..." The aged man spoke as the special ops squad took the prisoner down a hall and into an elevator. "Especially if you brought along that old dinosaur," he nodded toward Prophet.

"Technically you're older than me Admiral." Prophet replied to which Hackett smiled.

"Of course I am Prophet... Now, Shepard." Hackett turned to look back at the Commander. "I understand that you and Mitchell don't keep secrets from your crew, but what we are going to be doing is well above even the Prime Minister's security level." Hackett looked past Shepard as he spoke and looked each member of the ground team in the eyes while Prophet moved up to the Admiral.

"Steven... Considering some of the circumstances here, I suggest we bring the Gunnery Chief and Doctor T'Soni in on this. They are intertwined with the situation as it is and may only hinder us as we go forward." Prophet spoke, just loud enough for the squad to hear.

Hackett shook his head and brought his hand up to rub his temples. "Prophet... I swear to whatever god there is that if you weren't so helpful I'd have kicked you out an air lock thirty years ago." Hackett then turned and began walking away from the group with Prophet following close behind.

John got the cue, "All right people, the rest of you head back into the ship. Ash and Liara, let's get going."

After following the Admiral and Prophet down several hallways, multiple DNA scanners, and two separate weapons checks (which included John and Liara having to wear specialized biotic suppressant gear), they emerged in what appeared very similar to the hideout they found Prophet in. Except this time there were no weapons, just computer servers, holo-displays, and data terminals. All of which surrounded a cradle similar to that in the mine, only with a lot more wires connected to it.

"John? Is that you?" A slightly Russian accent voice echoed as John stepped in the room. John quickly turned to the source of the voice. A man in his early thirties with primarily Slavic facial features with western European thrown in, greasy jet black hair that looked like it hadn't been touched by a comb in days that accompanied an equally scraggly beard came out from behind a server stack.

"Alexi?" John questioned, then smiled at seeing his childhood friend. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing! I've been a part of this operation for as long as I can remember!" The two of them grabbed each other in a hand shake that quickly turned into a hug. Once they broke the embrace, Alexi looked at Prophet. "Big man... Long time no see... Did the recalibration on the defrosting procedures help out?"

"Yeah it did... I didn't feel like my bones were about to snap when I woke up this time around." Prophet grumbled as he slowly twisted his head letting loose several loud pops.

Liara jumped slightly at the sound, squeaking in the process. "Goddess!" Ashley laughed and proceeded to explain to the Asari about how humans can crack some joints to relieve stress and pressure.

"Excellent! Hopefully soon we can begin implementing that on our own prototype stasis pods but I'm getting ahead of myself!" Alexi turned to the females in the room, who had just finished their side discussion. "I am Dr. Alexi Ivanovich, Admiral Hackett's Chief Science Officer..."

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. Shepard's Weapons Officer." Ashley greeted Alexi with a quick but firm hand shake.

"Doctor Liara T'Soni," Liara continued, bowing her head slightly, "Acting Prothean expert for the Normandy."

"Ah yes! I've read some of your work doctor. Excellent theories, if only you had more compelling evidence... Ah but I sidetracked myself!" Alexi exclaimed. "Big man, I assume they know the basics?" Prophet grunted from his location by the cradle which he was eying up. "Right... So as you know Captain Ryan Mitchell is from the early 21st century, as is Prophet over there, and their nanosuits were constructed using technology far beyond what humanity was capable of at the time by itself to combat an alien threat.

When Mitchell 'disappeared', Prophet, General Hawk, and Doctor Nathan Gould all agreed, given the data that all but proved Mitchell had traveled forward in time, that the technology of the nanosuits couldn't fall in the wrong hands. So they found a way to preserve Prophet, and started a legacy of hunting Mitchell down. Admiral Hackett as you know is a descendant of General Hawk. I am Doctor Nathan Gould's descendant."

"So why didn't you guys immediately pick up Mitchell when the Normandy first recovered him? You have to go through the Charon relay, then the Arcturus relay to get to Eden Prime, they could have dropped him off then." Ashley asked.

Hackett stepped back into the conversation. "Things were moving too quickly Williams. By the time I got the notification from Anderson, the Normandy had already jumped through the Arcturus relay and had gotten your squad's distress call. From there, we had to simply roll with it."

"Now..." Alexi clapped his hands together. "If I am understanding the situation correctly, Mitchell was captured by Cerberus yesterday correct? And you have some fragmented data caches-"

"Which I already analyzed Doc." Prophet called out. "I need to interface to get the whole picture." Prophet then turned to Hackett, "I told you Admiral that that group was a bad idea from the get-go. Black-ops should never have that kind of operational jurisdiction."

Hackett crossed his arms, a cold look entered his eyes. "Wasn't my call and you know that. Now get your ass in that chair and get to work!"

"What's going on Admiral?" John asked, having never seen Hackett get that riled up.

"Simply put, the AI inside of Prophet's suit is the most advanced computer system known besides the entirety of the Geth collective. It has the processing power of a super computer with the addition of the abstract and non-linear thinking of an organic. That cradle allows Prophet to connect to the entire Alliance database, utilize the entire stations processing power in addition to his own, and come up with the answers we need."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Liara butted in, preventing John from asking a rather important question. "Exposing the human nervous system, or any species for that matter, to that much data, he could very well loose his sense of self."

"Prophet is uniquely suited for the task, Doctor." Alexi answered. "To continue the computer analogy because of the way SECOND operates, almost all of his brain functions are now regulated by the suit itself. Similar to having a secondary processor to take care of menial tasks so the primary processor can handle the more complex operations. His higher thought processes are still intact, but are able to work more efficiently thanks to having more raw power to work with."

Liara's, Ashley's, and John's eyes widened. They all had the same thought. "Will that eventually happen to Ryan?" Liara asked.

Alexi simply shrugged. "I can't say... I have no data to work with beyond what has been gathered... I will say that his suit's AI is operating on a much different level than SECOND."

"Hey, Doc!" Prophet called out. "Let's get this show on the road! I have a 'zoomie' to go rescue"

"Yes yes Prophet..." Alexi sighed and went to a data-terminal.

"'Zoomie'?" Ashley asked outloud.

"Old nick name for anyone in the Air Force used by the other armed forces. Usually derogatory." Prophet answered mechanically as he sat in the cradle. Admiral Hackett motion for John, Ash, and Liara to follow him as he walked over to a holo-panel.

"Begin when ready Alexi," Hackett ordered.

After cracking several knuckles, Alexi called out, "Initiating sequence in five... Four... Three... Two... One..."

The room, which had been fairly quiet up to that point was filled with noise as the stations servers and processors fired up and began the process of connecting to Prophet and the nanosuit. Data-streams began flying by on the holo-panel faster than they could be read, along with brief images that no one could really see. As the data kept going by, Prophet could be heard grunting and breathing heavily from the stress of the process.

"Admiral..." Alexi called out, a hint of worry in his voice. "If he stays in past the danger mark..."

"How much time?"

"Fifteen seconds..."

"Then let us hope he doesn't." Hackett sighed.

Alexi began counting down the seconds. "Ten seconds to overload... Six... Five... Four... Three... Two... O-"

Before Alexi could finish saying 'one', everything in the room shut down. Lights, holo-panels, display terminals, servers, everything.

"That could not have been good..." Liara murmured.

"Sorry about that," Prophet's distinct baritone voice pierced the darkness, "I gave the stations VI an upgrade while I was in there. Now she won't be as useless as before." The lights in the room came back on and reveled Prophet standing out of the cradle. "Eliza's code needs some work too Admiral. I don't know what the hell your guys did, but they completely fucked her systems up since I started her."

Hackett shook his head, "We don't have the time to worry about our VI's and AI's Prophet." Eliza was the Alliance's first sentient AI. Made on Gagarin Station (aka 'Jump Zero'), she was used mostly as a test bed for future VI software to ensure their stability and logic processes. Because AI research is strictly controlled, her original coding which was based off of SECOND had several control points and hard locks installed to ensure it wouldn't go rouge. "If Cerberus is able to crack the nanosuit, we're going to have a much bigger problem on our hands."

"Well... We're going to have to do some more digging then Admiral." Prophet replied.

* * *

**Normandy SR-1**

**Comm Room**

**July 29th 04:45 ship time**

**En Route to the Citadel**

"So let me get this straight..." Kaiden piped up. Once Shepard and the rest of the ground team got back on board the Normandy, Shepard called a team meeting in the Comm Room so Prophet could explain the plan. "The data we recovered had no information on any other Cerberus bases, but did have intel on a small merc group they were after. That merc group is currently at the Citadel, recovering after Cerberus captured three of their team and we're hoping that they have information on more Cerberus bases."

"Correct." Prophet answered. Back on Arcturus, Prophet had explained the situation to those present. Essentially Cerberus was very smart in covering its tracks. No cell had much information on others, if any. As such, he gathered some intel from both the SAIB and by calling in a favor from the Shadow Broker that pointed to a merc group that had gotten in trouble with Cerberus. "Cerberus wants these guys because they've stolen several weapons prototypes from them, along with their biotics which they gained after surviving an eezo spill a few months back. They managed to capture three of the six in a raid on Illium, damaging their ship in the process. The remaining three managed to get to the Citadel, presumably to repair, rearm, and plan a rescue."

"How did the Shadow Broker know about this group?" Wrex asked.

"He's the one who hired them to steal the weapons from Cerberus." Prophet answered matter of factly.

"What kind of weapons are we talking about here?" Garrus jumped in, "I find it hard to believe that the Shadow Broker would have a merc group run an op like that for some prototypes."

"I don't know Vakarian and honestly it doesn't matter." Prophet replied. "We need to find these three guys on the Citadel as soon as we dock." He activated his omnitool and three images popped up on the Comm Room's holo-panel.

"Christ... They're just kids!" John cried out. Indeed, the three images were of young men. Below which displayed their important information; Name, age, height, weight, eye and hair color.

"What are a bunch of twenty-somethings doing in a merc group?" Ash asked outloud.

Prophet stepped in front of the three images, "We can't worry about that right now. What matters is that we find either Sean, Thomas, or Allen and get them to help us."

* * *

**Citadel**

**July 29th 05:34 ship time**

Once the Normandy docked with the Citadel, the entire ground team split up in pairs to look for the three young men. Prophet had managed to also get the merc groups favorite spots on the Citadel and as such sent a team to each location. While Prophet wasn't technically in charge of the mission to rescue Mitchell, no one objected to the plan which had them all (except Garrus, Wrex, and Tali) in street clothes with only pistols for weapons.

Prophet and Liara were going to be heading for the merc group's ship since Prophet would have an easy time moving around in the docking areas than in the crowded wards. Tali and Garrus went straight to a club the group was sighted going to several times, as it wouldn't be unusual to see a Quarian and Turian in a club together. Kaiden and Ash made their way to a restaurant while Shepard and Wrex went to a relatively unknown arms dealer. The hope was that one group would get by unnoticed and tail one of the young men till he met up with the other two, where the entire ground team could box them in if they tried to run.

"Prophet..." Liara asked. She was walking from the Alliance docking area on Zakera Ward to the beginning of the public area and had a comm line open to Prophet who currently was working his way through the maintenance area above her. "Can I ask you some questions?" Thankfully the Citadel didn't have a night cycle and the docks were always busy so it wasn't too unusual to see an Asari walking around while carrying on a conversation via omni-tool; she just had to watch how she phrased her questions and keep her reactions in check.

"As long as you keep an eye-*hmpf*-damn Keeper- out for our target's go ahead..." Prophet grunted.

Liara moved out of the way of some Turians hauling equipment between a freighters cargo bay and the truck that would carry goods to somewhere on the station. "It's in reference to Ryan's past..."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Well LT... Want to go in and grab a bite to eat?" Ashley asked as they finally made it to the restaurant, which was really more like an open air food stand. Situated near one of the Citadel wards few recreation areas/fields, it's seating area was open while the actual cooking and work went on inside an alcove in the area's wall.

"Sure... We might as well try to be inconspicuous." Kaiden shrugged. The two of them patiently waited as they were seated by an Asari. Once they sat down, a Turian waiter immediately set down a pair of 'levo' menus and informed them of the specials. Ashley kept her order easy with a cold cut sandwich while Kaiden got a large bowl of chicken parmesan pasta. "So... Ash... How are you coping with all of this?"

Ashley was slightly caught off guard as she was wishing that Shepard was her teammate for this needle in a haystack search. "Can you be more specific LT? We only have how many different things going on at the moment." She replied with a hint of laughter.

"Sorry... I was wondering how you were dealing with your recent family issue." Kaiden spoke very carefully, knowing that it only took a few words to tip someone off on something big.

"Well..." Ash leaned back into her chair and looked up seeing the other ward arms and the Widow nebula floating above them. "God moves in mysterious ways..." She whispered and brought her gaze back down to Kaiden. "I'm glad I'm able to speak with that part of my family... I think its a first for practically anyone to speak with someone that far off in their family tree..." Ash then let out a short sigh. "But I can't help but feel sorry for him for all he's been through."

"Hey... He's a soldier... Your entire family line has been soldiers." Kaiden reassured her. "I'm sure you both will find a way through this."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Now why do you want to know about his past?" Prophet asked. While being up on the maintenance walkways above the docking area allowed him to stay out of sight and still able to scan the crowded docks, it was annoyingly cramped with random crates and the occasional Keeper.

"Well... I was hoping that if I knew more about his past I could help him recovery his memories..." Liara sounded tentative.

"Right..." Prophet stopped to let SECOND run a facial scan of every one in the current docking area to look for one of their targets. "Why don't you tell me the real reason." He saw Liara stop momentarily in the crowd before continuing on, and SECOND finished its scan with no matches.

"As you are aware... I've had to meld with him to help decipher the message from the Prothean beacon... Lately I've been seeing images of a human woman that I have never seen before..." _Damn... _Prophet thought. _She's interested in him. _"After you showed us how he came to the present and his wife, I realized that she was the woman I have been seeing in those images."

"Cut to the chase T'Soni." Prophet snapped, causing Liara to halt completely in her tracks forcing everyone to have to move around her. SECOND chose that time to zoom in on her face as she looked around to hopefully spot his position. She had a look of frustration on her face, clearly wanting to vent it all on him.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"See anything you like Wrex?" John asked as they looked through the weapon stores selection. The store itself was small, but had some interesting pieces to say the least. John was looking at some mods for his sniper rifle while Wrex eyed up some shotguns.

"Nothing I'd spend hard earned credits on." Wrex grunted.

"What's your read on Prophet?"

"*Hmpf* He may be a good fighter, but he isn't a warrior. I get the feeling he's holding something back from us. How important it may be, I don't know. What I do know is that we're going to have to deal with more than just Saren and the Geth as we go on."

John lifted and tried on a chest section of armor set to get a feel for it's weight. While he liked the X series Onyx armor, he always felt like the chest section was too small for him to move and breath comfortably. "Yeah... I have to say I agree with you Wrex. The only question is who and what we're going to have to face."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

"Well? Are you going to tell me something or are you going to stand there looking like a crazy person?" Prophet pushed. Liara still hadn't voiced her reason for wanting to know more about Sarah, but Prophet already had an idea for why. _It's uncanny how similar they both-_

"I want to know if there is any chance for me to help him." She finally spoke. "I have not told anyone this, but when we have melded for the Prothean beacon I could also sense a overwhelming feeling of sadness coming from the center of his being." Prophet, who was busy scanning as far ahead as he could for their targets, stopped and refocused on Liara. She had moved off to the side of the docking area and sat down on a bench. Her head was resting on her hands in a contemplative look. "While I am still a maiden, the sadness I saw within him is more than most people could bear but I also saw what could only be described as an unwavering sense of duty.

I wish to know about his past, so I can help him through the present and eventually look forward to the future."

Prophet, for all of the upgrades that were bestowed upon him when Barnes had given Alcatraz the Nanosuit 2, was at a loss for words. He had assumed that, since she was an Asari, that Liara merely wanted to know about Mitchell so she could find something she could use to benefit herself in the long run as the Asari were famously known for doing thanks to their thousand-plus year lifespan. Thanks to SECOND's almost complete control of his body, Prophet had almost no capacity for emotions beyond a laugh here or a sarcastic comment there. So for Prophet to feel a sense of shock after being stuck inside the suit for so many years was something unexpected.

"Prophet?" Liara asked, expecting a swift response rather than a long pause.

"I'm sorry Dr. T'Soni... But I can't help you..." Prophet sighed. "I never really knew him that well."

"Oh..." Liara's shoulders visibly slumped as she turned her gaze towards the ground. "I see..."

SECOND then brought his attention to a spot in the crowd a ways down the docking area. Looking over the data he smiled. "Well Doctor... If we hurry up, you might be able to get those answers for yourself." He then switched his comm to the team's channel. "To all November teams, this is November-Eight-Nine, Subject Sierra has been spotted. Repeat Subject Sierra has been spotted."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

The point behind using alpha-phonetics and numbered called signs was to ensure that anyone who could have been frequency hopping looking for any unsecured chattered and information wouldn't be able to guess what was going. The noise in the club that Garrus and Tali were scouting out compounded the issue though. Garrus could barely hear the team comm open over the sound of the loud electronic dance music that seemed to be all the rage these days.

"Novemeber-Eight-Nine this is November-Four-Five repeat last!" Garrus tried radioing back as he looked for Tali. They decided to split up to check out the club, which was divided into two levels, to cover more ground and remain somewhat casual. With the station being in the middle of it's night cycle though, the place was near if not at capacity. Garrus had to shove his way through more than a few dancing couples as he made his way to the stairs to try and find Tali.

The comm crackled back to life once again, and it caused Garrus to stop and try to hear what was going on. He pressed his right hand over his ear canal and his left over his visor to try and block out the clubs noise. It didn't help anything though.

"Damn it!" He cursed and resumed looking for Tali. Not spotting her purple veil anywhere he quickly brought up his omni-tool and pinged her location. One of the benefits of working C-Sec was access to some specialized tracking programs. While they only worked on the Citadel, if he knew a persons hard coded omni-tool address he could use the stations extra net systems to ping their omni-tool to get a fix on where they were. Of course it was only accurate to about twenty meters, but it was better than nothing.

The results of the ping showed him that Tali was still in the club, but where exactly he couldn't tell. Growling in frustration, he turned around as he focused on his omni-tool to try another tracking program he had and began to walk back down to the main level.

Not paying attention to his surroundings and relying on his armored form to get people to get out of his way, he slammed into someone. Hard. He stumbled back from the impact, more out of shock than pain as his armor softened the impact for him, and looked up to apologize to who ever he bumped into.

"Oww..." He heard the familiar warble of Tali's voice coming from the ground. "You Turians really should look where you're going..." Her glowing eyes seemed to hint at laughter behind the obvious pain in her voice from running into him.

"Sorry Tali." Garrus apologized stumbling over his words as he did, "I was looking for you and was more focused on my omni-tool..." He offered her his hand to help her off the clubs floor before they made a scene, which she quickly took and pulled herself up.

Tali laughed lightly, "It's alright Garrus. Come on, _November-Eight-Nine _said he found the one of the targets." She then turned and began walking out of the club.

"How were you able to hear that over all this noise?" Garrus asked.

She tapped the side of her helmet. "Audio dampeners."

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Sean never really felt comfortable walking around a crowded place like the Citadel without his armor and helmet on, let alone with out his weapons. But the circumstances required that he and his friends lay low for the time being. He did have his old Krogan knife on him, so that helped calm his nerves down a little bit.

Having just finished some repairs on the ship, he was heading out to pick up some more parts and grab a bite to eat. Thankfully, no one in C-Sec gave him any trouble and neither did anyone else as he made his way to the groups favorite place to eat on the Citadel. Being a taller guy at six foot eight inches did have it's advantages some times.

_Thomas should be almost done picking up whatever he needed_. Sean thought to himself. _Allen is probably getting ready to blow something up if we don't get out of here soon, _too.

As he made his way out of the docking area and into the Zakera Ward proper, Sean got a funny feeling. A tingle on the back of his neck like someone was intently staring at him. He quickly made his way to a public extranet terminal to check on something, but it was only a ruse to see if he could spot anyone following him. Sean sat there for a good ten minutes before he decided to continue on. _Must be just nerves... This whole thing with Cerberus has got me really on edge... _He thought to himself as he continued on his way.

The feeling persisted though, even after he made several random turns and doubled back to see if he could recognize some faces, or catching someone watching him. _Alright that's it... I'm not taking chances... _He activated his omni-tool and opened up a secure channel to Thomas and Allen as he ducked into a maintenance hallway.

"Hey guys..." He spoke calmly as he watched the crowds pass by. "We might have a problem."

"_What kind of problem?_" Allen asked, the concern evident in his voice. "_Real, or personal?_"

"I'm getting that feeling likeI'm being followed..." Sean hadn't spotted anyone who looked into the maintenance hallway longer than a normal person would. _Why do I still feel like I'm being watched? _"Thomas, can you get into any of the cameras in the dock access area and see if you can spot anyone hovering by Maintenance Hall...E-34?"

"_On it..._" Came the swift reply.

"_You think it's Cerberus, Sean?"_ Allen asked.

"No idea... I'm hoping it's not, or else things are gonna get real busy around here..."

"_Alright I'm in... Scanning the crowd... No obvious lurkers unless Cerberus has decided to enlist a Turian shopkeeper a ways down from your position..._"

"Damn... Not what I was hoping for..." Sean cursed, wishing to himself that they had more time to prep for their mission and get the ship up to snuff. "Alright," Sean spoke with authority, "We're done here... Where ever you guys are, get out of there now. We're going to meet up at rendezvous point Bravo. Keep your eyes open for anything suspicious and if any of us are attacked, run, don't fight."

"_Argh..._" Allen groaned, "_I hate going to the transit hub!"_

"Don't argue, Allen! Remember comms discipline! Just because the line is secure doesn't mean it can't be hacked!" Sean ordered. "If we're _ever _going to find the others, we need to stay out of harm's way and stick together. Once we meet up we'll high tail it back to the ship and place ourselves 30,000 light-years away from every living thing in the galaxy."

"_Roger..." _Allen and Thomas replied.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

_Well... At least they have some idea of what they are doing... _Prophet mulled as he tracked Sean to the transit hub. Thanks to SECOND and its ability to listen in on over 6000 different forms of communication _before _factoring in the omni-tool, Prophet was able to listen in on their targets plan.

"All November teams targets are heading to uploaded coordinates. Repeat, targets are moving to this location." Prophet called out as SECOND pinged the coordinates of the near by transit hub to the rest of the ground team. Crawling over some piping and avoiding a Keeper, he received acknowledgments from every one. The good thing was that thanks to the transit hub's central location, a box maneuver would work very well. The bad part was that it was a little too public for him to help out.

Sean had picked up the pace slightly, and still managed to try and spot his pursuer by making a few random turns and stops to survey the crowd. Never once did he think to look up. As the cat and mouse game continued, Ashley and Kaiden reported in saying they had eyes on Allen but no word as of yet on Thomas. Prophet had given the Normandy crew the vital information on their targets but kept some of it for himself. The fact that some members of the group were prone to violence and other extremes in their behavior patterns was not needed at this moment.

_***DN7*DN7*DN7***_

Sean was getting a little nervous now. The feeling of being watched wasn't going away, if anything it was getting worse. Still he took an indirect route to the transit hub to try and throw off and potential tails who might have been planning something for him down the line. Being slightly paranoid didn't help when his omni-tool went off, signaling a new message.

Once his heart rate got back to normal, Sean opened up his omni-tool to read it. Thomas had made it to the transit hub and was waiting in one of the side areas that no one really paid attention to. The store shop that was situated next to it was more appealing than a sitting area. More importantly he was watching what surveillance feeds he could access to monitor Allen and Sean's approach for any rats following them.

Roughly fifteen minutes after he made the call to his friends, Sean finally made it to the transit hub. Being one of the central points of interest and commerce on the ward naturally made it busy. That level of activity made it ideal for losing any potential tails. As he made his way to the area Thomas had told them to meet up, Sean could see Allen wandering around aimlessly. Being an inch or two shy of Sean and having red hair made him stand out in the crowd more than most humans.

"Hey Allen!" Sean called out, immediately getting his friends attention away from a local omni-tool game vendor. Allen quickly made his way over to Sean, leaving the Salarian vendor slightly pissed off.

"Hey Sean, just checking some new games out, looking for something with a lot of explosions. What's got you spooked?" Allen asked as Sean lead the way to Thomas' location.

"I just have a hunch is all, and considering ourcurrent situation I'd rather be safer than sorry."

"No complaints from me. Is the Spire ready to go out, though?"

Sean's shoulders slumped slightly, "Not as ready as I'd like it to be, but it's nothing we can't fix with spit an' polish on the way. Now come on, let's get Thomas and get the hellout of here."

Allen nodded and closelyfollowed behind Sean as he made his way through the crowded hub. Turians, Asari, Salarians, Humans, even the occasional Krogan and Hanar could all be seen in the area. Sean pushed past a Turian in blue C-Sec armor, apologizing as he went and didn't bother to look back as he was focused on just one thing.

"Just a hunch of my own, but I had a feeling two unarmored humans were following me earlier, one male, one female." Allen leaned over and whispered as we walked.

"Well in that case, let's be extra careful." Sean quickly replied, resuming my normal walking posture.

Finally, the duo made it to the small sitting area Thomas had found. He was sitting in the only corner and faced outwards, which allowed him to observe the area while also monitoring his omni-tool's data feed. As Sean and Allen approached him, Thomas' face scrunched up as he watched the data feed.

"What's wrong, Thomas?" Sean asked, concern evident in his voice. "Spot anything?"

Thomas pressed a few keys on his omni-tool before responding. "Nothing... Just a glitch in the security feed."

"Could it be tampering?" Allen suggested, now focused on Thomas's omni-tool.

"Possibly, but I can't be sure. Let's get back to the Spire before we find out." He closed down his omni-tool and got up from his spot. Out of the three, Thomas was shorter but only by a small margin.

While there was supposed to be safety in numbers, Sean still couldn't get rid of the feeling that someone was watching him as the trio walked, and he was really getting pissed off. Never before had he felt like he was being hunted to this extent. Rather than try to loose any potential tail they may have had, Sean opted to go almost directly to the ship out of discomfort.

Roughly half way there, Sean grabbed Thomas and Allen by their shirt sleeves and dragged them into a dead end corridor which had a lone keeper working at a random console at its end. It was fairly wide and as such was being used as a secondary storage area for one of the nearby businesses, and had random crates scattered around it. Still holding onto his friends, who were practically shouting obscenities at him, Sean threw them behind one of the larger containers roughly a third of the way down the corridor and joined them. _Here's to hoping this works. _Thomas and Allen finally got the picture and quieted down as Sean pulled out his Krogan knife. They also pulled out their own Hahne-Kedar Kessler Mk. III pistols out and ready. The three of them waited for what seemed to be almost an eternity as the sounds of the people moving between the transit hub and the docking area covered up any noise that could have given away a tail pacing back and forth looking for their target.

"Alright... It's official... Sean's gone fuckin' crazy..." Allen spoke quietly.

Sean was just about to tell him otherwise when he heard several distinct footsteps, footsteps that werecoming down the corridor.

"Come on out Sean, Thomas and Allen..." A male human voice called out. "We know you three are here. We just need to talk with you."

"Yeah? Whose we?" Sean shouted. "Some Cerberus assholes and scientists wanting to carve me and my friends up like fucking frogs?"

"No." The response was immediate. "My name is Commander Shepard and I'm here to ask for your help."

Sean looked to his friends at his side, Thomas was quickly typing on his omni-tool, going through several camera feeds. None of which could show their corridor or the people who had them boxed in. Allen just shook his head in rebuke and prepped his biotics. While none of their powers were that well developed, it certainly came in handy in a tight spot. Thomas shut off his omni-tool as well and prepped his own. Both of them nodded at Sean, all of them having been in the same kind of situation before.

"Sorry _Commander_..." Sean replied. "Did you Cerberus morons really think that by saying your ringleader was _the _Commander Shepard that we'd fall for it? What kind of fucking idiots are Cerberus recruiting?"

Sean could hear some talking going on from the far end of the corridor. _As good a time as any... _Sean thought as he nodded to his friends and prepped his own biotics. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the three of them stood up and biotically shoved the container they were hiding behind towards their unknown assailants. Sean could see a few shapes duck out of the way of the oncoming steel container.

Right before it was stopped in mid air then shot to pieces by a Carnage round from a red armored Krogan wielding a nasty looking shotgun. To the Krogan's right was an Asari in a standard green-white-black scientist outfit, sheathed in a biotic flare.

Finally to the Asari's right was- "Commander Shepard?" Sean thought out loud in shock. As he finished his thought, he felt Thomas' and Allen's head collide into his, knocking him cold instantly.

* * *

**A/N: Well we're getting close to the end of the Deadman Walking arc! I have been sitting on this chapter for some time since I thought I'd be able to get the last two sections done in a timely manner. Unfortunately that is not the case. School work has been piling up and I only have one month left in my semester. As such I don't know how much time I'll even have to write, aside from the fact that the last two sections for this arc are proving to be a pain to write.**

**Now for those of you who have been with me from the beginning, my writing as obviously improved over time. As such I've been wanting to rewrite parts of ME:TUH to better reflect what I had in mind for the story. My question to you is this: Do you want ME:TUH's rewrite to be updated as a new story or simply have the early chapters contents replaced/edited as needed? You can let me know via the poll on my profile. This rewrite however won't start until I have finished the current arc, so you have the time it takes me to write two chapters to vote.**

**For those of you who are wondering what the Normandy ground teams call sign system is, its pretty simple. November is the alpha-phonetic pronunciation of N in any NATO affiliated military, which in this case is for Normandy and the numbers are based on the order they were recruited and the overall squad number**

**So here's the full call sign list:**

**Shepard – November Actual (would be Zero-One)**

**Kaiden – November One-Two**

**Mitchell – November Two-Three**

**Ashley – November Three-Four**

**Garrus – November Four-Five**

**Wrex – November Five-Six**

**Tali – November Six-Seven**

**Liara – November Seven-Eight**

**Prophet – November Eight-Nine**

**Thanks for reading guys and gals! Don't forget to vote!**


	23. Author's Notice

**ME:TUH**

**Author's Notice to Readers**

* * *

**10/13/2012**

Hey guys, I know some and/or many of you have been waiting since March for a new chapter of this fic, and I hate doing this kind of thing but I have made very little progress on the next chapter. I honestly can not find the drive to continue the story as it currently is. This was after all my first fan fic I wrote, and I made 'some' rookie mistakes that I'd rather see fixed before going anywhere else with the story. There is also the fact that I am a stickler for sticking to canon as much as possible, and with Crysis 3 barely six months away (I'm predicting a March release just like they had for Crysis 2) things I have said in earlier chapters will be wrong. I know I can just go back and fix what ever pops up, but I do have alterior motives for this decision.

I have spent what time I had the past six months plotting and planning for all of my stories, published and unpublished. In total I have roughly 18 stories in the works (6 for the Unsung saga, 6 for my Stargate/Mass Effect crossover, and the rest are suprises) and I simply need more time for planning. Things have come up with ME3 DLC that will change how I write all of my stories (which are all Mass Effect crossovers) that I need to adjust for.

I also have been very busy with real life. Between ever increasing school work, bad hours at my part time job, and trying to maintain contact with my friends, my time for writing has been slowly disappearing.

I will **firmly** state that I am not stopping writing altogether. Quite the opposite in my opinion as I am working to make my stories the best they can possibly be. So for the time being, Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero is done. Once Crysis 3 comes out, and I have beaten it a sufficient number of times, you can expect **Mass Effect: The Unsung Hero 1.1** to come out. **METUH 1.1 **will incorporate the poll decisions I had set up for 1.0 and will contain the current and planned OC cameos as well.

I'd also like to use this opportunity to thank everyone who has reviewed, alerted, and favorited METUH. You guys kept me going, and still keep me going.

One final thing before I go. I have a Twitter account that I post somewhat regular updates to regarding my stories, search for 'Mitchell_DN7' and it should be fairly obvious which one is me.

See you guys around,

~DN7


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